VANCOUVER – After a month-long winter break, the UBC Thunderbirds opened the second half of the Canada West campaign by outlasting the Trinity Western Spartans 69-64 in a fourth quarter nail biter Friday night at War Memorial Gym. The T-Birds improved to 9-2 while handing the visitors their first setback of the season, falling to 8-1.
 
Mona Berlitz topped the score sheet for the 'Birds with 21 points and eight rebounds.  Olivia Weekes added 12 points, five rebounds and an assist, while Sofia Bergman contributed another ten points and five rebounds.



"Im proud of people being ready to do what we needed," said UBC head coach Isabel Ormond. "We had a bunch of eager people ready to do what we needed to do at the end of the game." 

The Spartans' Shamaiah Abatayo earned a team-high 23 points, four rebounds, two assists and four steals, while team captain Jayden Gill added 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals.

In the first quarter, with the game tied 8-8 after a series of quick and aggressive charges at the glass from both teams, the T-Birds' second-year guard Cerys Merton and Weekes shot three-pointers on consecutive possessions, sending the home crowd into a frenzy and igniting a flurry of baskets for the 'Birds, which swiftly brought the game to 21-10. The 11 point lead was short-lived however as the Spartans picked their way back with quick plays at the glass to narrow their deficit to four, ending the quarter at a more manageable 23-19.

The second quarter opened with continued charges to the net from both teams resulting in a multitude of free throws. The following period of empty possessions was broken up by an exchange of points from UBC's Sofia Bergman who landed a pair of free throws and a layup, while the Spartans' Blessing Ibekwe responded with a pair of baskets. A three-pointer from late UBC substitute Stella Lagrange near the end of the second increased the hosts lead to 13 points, which only grew from there. The quarter ended 41-28 for UBC.


 
The T-Birds continued to cement control over the game in the third stanza allowing only 10 Spartan points. UBC did see moments of trouble from Spartans third-year guard, Abatayo, who finished the first half with 10 points and three boards. An impressive inside pass to Jayden Gill, threaded by Abatayo gave the visitors a boost of confidence near the end of the quarter but the 'Birds lockdown defence and a determined Berlitz, who continued to rack up points helped keep UBC ahead 50-38 by the end of the frame.



Abatayo, started the last quarter with an impressive triple for the Spartans while teammate, Gill, went to work in the paint, drawing a foul and finishing a layup. After another Abatayo basket which earned an and-one, UBC was forced to regroup with a timeout while holding a nine-point lead. After the break, Abatayo and Gill continued a hot streak of rebounds and baskets further narrowing the Spartans deficit to five points 59-54. With the momentum slipping toward the Spartans, Hailey Counsell hit a jump shot to give UBC a much-needed spark, but Gill continued her impressive play in earning multiple free throws to pull TWU within one at 61-60 with 2:04 on the clock. A T-Birds foul gave Trinity's Gracie Corneau a chance to put the Spartans in front but both shots were missed. After Spartan baskets from Cassidy Buchanan and Ibekwe and four successful UBC free throws the blue and gold were able to salt the game away by a score of 69-64.
 
Both teams meet again Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. to complete the weekend series at War Memorial Gym.