VANCOUVER – The U SPORTS No.2-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (7-1) suffered their first loss of the season in a thrilling 59-55 nail-biter against the No.7-ranked Calgary Dinos (5-3). The Dinos played spoiler in front of a raucous crowd at War Memorial Gym, with over 800 fans coming out to enjoy UBC's Courtside Festival.
The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak to start the season for the T-Birds. Calgary is still the only team to have beaten UBC at home in head coach Isabel Ormond's two seasons at the helm.
Mona Berlitz led the home team with 13 points and six rebounds.
Olivia Weekes added 12 points and nine rebounds, while shooting an efficient 57 per cent from the field.
Miriam Kone was the leading scorer for the Dinos. She finished the game with 14 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Defensive intensity once again dictated the pace to start the contest, but the T-Birds' transition offence opened up some lanes for scoring, as Berlitz and
Cerys Merton found back-to-back layups early in the game.
Rebounding was an issue for the Dinos in the first quarter, as they allowed eight offensive boards. Neither team held the momentum, as they traded baskets through the frame. Late in the quarter,
Sara Toneguzzi found Stella Lagrange for a corner triple on a nice drive and kick for the 'Birds, but Milica Gajic responded by finding Kone for a Dinos' three in response.
Calgary led 17-6 after one.
The second quarter saw both the Dinos and the Thunderbirds slow down offensively as the defensive intensity picked up. Neither team allowed any easy looks at the basket, but the Dinos three-and-d game started to slowly pay off. Pollyanna Storie and Mya Proctor each knocked down a three, before Kone found Amelie Collin for another one from beyond the arc after driving to the baseline to draw in the defence.
At half-time, the Dinos were up ten, 26-36.
Calgary came out with a full court, putting pressure on the T-Birds, but they persevered. Berlitz drove down the middle of the lane for a floater, Weekes hit a short corner jumper and Lagrange found the bottom of the net for a three, cutting the lead down to just five.
But the Dinos found quick answers to the Birds' offence. Two consecutive layups by Sydney Milum and Storie off of pick-and-rolls and a jumper from the top of the key by Kone pushed the Dinos' lead to 50-38 going into the fourth quarter.
In the final frame, the T-Birds' defensive energy held the Dinos scoreless for four straight minutes, propelling them to a 6-0 run to start the fourth. The hard-nosed defence kept the T-Birds within four points, as the game went down to the wire.
Ultimately, the Dinos never relinquished their advantage and proved resilient in holding off the 'Birds for a 59-55 win in front of the boisterous, bucket-banging War Memorial Gym crowd.
The Thunderbirds now head to Kelowna to face UBC-Okanagan Heat on Friday for their final game of 2024. The Dinos are already done for the year and head into the holiday break on a high.
