VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (8-2) are looking to start their second half strong when they host the Trinity Western Spartans (8-0) for a back-to-back weekend series to kick off a four-game homestand coming out of the winter break. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (PT) on Friday and 4:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday at War Memorial Gym.
The T-Birds entered the break playing some of their best basketball, winning four consecutive games, including a home-and-home sweep of rival Victoria. The 'Birds also dealt with a skewed, road-heavy first half schedule, playing seven of their first 10 games away from Point Grey. UBC has won all three of its matchups at War Memorial Gym this season by double digits.
"I'm just so happy with how the group has been competing," reflected Thunderbirds head coach Isabel Ormond, cracking a smile. "When people ask how the first term went, I say I feel very fortunate that we have a group that can have fun and genuinely enjoy being in a competitive setting without losing focus. I think we're performing at a high level and in a great place."
Despite sitting at or near the top of the Canada West standings for the entire season, the T-Birds aren't feeling the love on a national level, as U SPORTS has yet to rank the team in the Top 10. That doesn't deter Ormond however, as despite being pleased with her team's performance, she feels there is still plenty of room for growth for her group.
"The second half is all about execution, especially leading into playoffs," mused the first-year head coach. "Specifically for us, we need more on the offensive end. We typically have a lot of turnovers that lead to points for the other team. We do so well as a team defensively, we have to be able to replicate that on the offensive end."
After putting up the best overall defence in the conference last season, the T-Birds currently sit a close second in that category this year, while the offence is just outside of the top five.
Cross-town rival TWU is also U SPORTS Top 10 snub, despite their perfect 8-0 record. Scoring differential paints a beautiful picture for the Spartans too, as they have yet to score fewer than 64 points in a game all season, while the most they've given up to an opponent is 65. A caveat around Trinity's dominant numbers is that they have avoided the other conference heavyweights thus far, meaning a road test against the 'Birds will be their toughest to this point in the season.
"(Trinity Western) has had a great first term and picked up some big wins," said Ormond. "They have some great players like Jayden Gill, we're ready to try a lot of different things to slow her down. Both teams have strong records and seem pretty evenly matched, so I'm sure it's going to be a competitive weekend that fans will enjoy."
Tickets for both Friday and Saturday's games are still available
here. Stream all of the action, live or on demand, on
Canada West TV.
