SASKATOON, SK – The number one ranked Saskatchewan Huskies experience was on full display as they got past the up and coming number eight seed University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 81-46, Saturday evening in the Canada West Quarter Final on home court at the Physical Activity Complex in Saskatoon.
 
"That was a great team win for us at home, and it was great to get some of our young players to get a playoff win under our belt. It was nice to get everyone out and contributing," said Huskies Head Coach Lisa Thomaidis.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS
 
The first half saw the Huskies offence dominate the court, outscoring the T-Birds 18 to 8 in the first quarter. While UBC's defense was stellar in the first half, their offence struggled to gain momentum. Saskatchewan would hustle to a nineteen-point lead at the half, going into the break up 43-24.
 
Carly Alstrom led the Huskies at the half with 16 points. The fourth-year guard added five rebounds went 4 for 4 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds were up against it without their leading scorer Olivia Weekes due to injury, the visitors were led by Sara Toneguzzi's 11 points while Emily Martindale and Hailey Counsell added eight and seven points respectively.
 
"We had a slow start, which didn't help. I think you can only play tough defence for so long. Full credit to Saskatchewan, they execute their stuff so well," said UBC Head Coach Erin McAlennan. "This is one of the highest points we've given up so far this season. I think the tough part for us was not scoring points. We weren't rebounding as well as we normally do. We missed some layups and some easy ones. It's hard to keep playing really tough defense when you're not scoring."



The Huskies offence would continue to impress in the second half, pushing the Thunderbirds defence to their limit and ending the third quarter with a 33-point lead. They continued to shine through the rest of the game and Saskatchewan would take the win in the Canada West Quarter Final.
 
Carly Ahlstrom would lead in scoring, with 24 points on the evening, adding eight rebounds, two steals
 
The upstart T-Birds have plenty to look forward to in the years ahead with the majority of their players completing their first or second-year of eligibility. Second-year head coach Erin McAleenan has the young nucleus showing impressive cohesion and a strong team identity that saw the the blue and gold rank as the top defensive unit in the Canada West, allowing a conference best, 60 points per game against while sitting fourth overall in steals per game. The 'Birds stinginess helped the program make significant strides compared to last season when they posted a 6-12 record with no playoff action while the 2022-23 campaign saw them improve by five wins and an 11-9 conference record that included a valuable post-season victory.
 
"We're a super young team so I'm really pleased with our season. Finishing in the top eight in Canada West, we have a really bright future. Looking forward to being able to host nationals in two years with everyone on this team being eligible to come back. We're really proud of our defence being one of the top in Canada West," said McAlennan.
 
The Canada West Semi-Final is set for Saturday, February 25. Game time is set for 4:00 PM CST and can be streamed live on CanadaWest.TV. Tickets are available at HuskieTickets.com.