VANCOUVER – The U SPORTS No.3-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (4-0) return to their home court this weekend where they'll look to defend their perfect record in back-to-back games against Victoria Vikes (3-1) at War Memorial Gym. Tip-off for Friday's matchup is set for 5:30 p.m. (PT) and Saturday's is set to start at 4:00 p.m. (PT).
The T-Birds are coming off of their first two-game series of the season, in which they earned a decisive sweep of the Thompson Rivers WolfPack in Kamloops, winning both games by over 30 points. The 'Birds stifling defence was on full display, as they did not allow the 'Pack to reach 50 points in either contest. In four games this year, the blue and gold have not allowed any opponent to reach 60 points, posting a conference-best 50.3 points against average, while also scoring at a conference-best clip of 77.8 points per game.
Now 20% of the way into the 20-game Canada West season, head coach Isabel Ormond feels the team has begun to establish its identity.
"Having this as my second year here, we spent last season changing some of our systems and our points of emphasis, it's nice to see us still building on those this year and integrating our new players," reflected Ormond. "I think we're playing pretty gritty basketball and very competitive basketball, even in practice. We had some big pre-season wins that were come from behind, or very close games, so it was nice seeing us playing poised and being composed coming off of those and leading into a pretty big conference schedule right away."
While the T-Birds' season-opening road win against the UFV Cascades, who were also 17-3 last year, was a massive early-season test, this weekend against Victoria may be just as challenging, and more emotionally charged. The two schools have a long-standing basketball rivalry and plenty of shared history, including Thunderbirds Hall of Fame player and former assistant coach Carrie Watts being head coach of the Vikes. Watts was a part of the
2003-04 T-Birds team being inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2025 and will be recognized during a presentation at half-time of Saturday's game.
Most recently, the rivalry was renewed and ratcheted up by U Vic upsetting the 'Birds in the first round of last year's Canada West Playoffs.
"I want to prep and treat every opponent the same way," said Ormond. "Yes, there's a rivalry there. They knocked us out of the playoffs last year, those are moments you don't forget, but I want our prep and composure as a team to be the same for every game."
"We work on grounding that energy and excitement going into the emotional weekends, because you can't just play well against rivals or big opponents, you need to be able to put it together against any team you're facing. So going into the weekend with the same mindset we've gone into our others games with so far, bringing some poise, some composure, some compete. I'm sure you'll still see a lot of extra energy anyway, but our focus and our prep has to stay the same week to week."
The teams matched up twice in the 2023-24 regular season with the T-Birds winning both halves of the home-and-home series by nearly identical scores of 70-51 & 72-52. So far this season, the Vikes have picked up a pair of home victories against UNBC, eked out a four-point win against a Trinity team who the 'Birds beat by 17 and lost to the aforementioned UFV Cascades, who the T-Birds took down by 20. The Vikes are middle of the pack in terms of both offensive and defensive rating within the conference.
"They're a strong team and their players seem to be getting better and developing every year, which I think is similar to us," commented Ormond. "They have a lot of reason to believe in their team, they've really been putting some pieces together and showing consistent player development. You know it's going to be a tough game, nothing's going to come easy in that kind of matchup."
Tickets to the games this weekend, which are part of and include full access to doubleheaders between the schools' No.1 and No.2 U SPORTS-ranked men's teams immediately afterward, may still be available
here.
Watch all UBC Thunderbirds in-conference action, live or on demand, on
Canada West TV.
