It was a good day on the pitch for the UBC Thunderbirds, as they cruised to an 85-7 victory over the Alberta Pandas at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.
Adia Pye was electric, scoring five straight tries in the first half and six on the night to lead UBC offensively.
Thunderbirds head coach
Dean Murten was pleased with how his team improved from last weekend's win over Lethbridge, in terms of playing a much cleaner game overall.
"Last week, we went into the changing rooms having given the ball away 21 times," said Murten. "This week it was down to five, so a vast difference. We just gotta keep bringing those numbers down."
It took just 30 seconds for the T-Birds to open the scoring in this one, as
Olivia Sarabura notched the team's first try following a great run from
Teya Ashworth that split the Pandas' defense.
Savannah Bauder made the convert, the first of six successful kicks for her on the day.
After that, it became the Pye parade, as the Victoria native dealt repeated damage down the left flank. She scored her first in the 7th minute after a good run by Bauder, before showing her own deadly speed with a solo dash in the 14th.
The onslaught continued with a stretch of three more tries in just ten minutes from Pye, all of them down the left sideline and all of them converted by Bauder, to stretch the lead to 42-0.
The T-Birds then got one more score on the board before the halftime interval. This time it was the rookie
Mya Koleba, who scooped the ball up off a lineout in the 38th and made a beeline for the try zone.
Up 47-0 at the break, the Thunderbirds continued to exert pressure in the second half.
Kiki Idowu punched one in after a period of goalmouth pressure in the 43rd, before
Jesse Knaggs and
Maddy Thran got their names on the scoresheet in quick succession to make it 66-0. Sarabura then slipped through the defense for her second score of the night.
The Pandas continued to battle hard, however, and put UBC under some sustained pressure in the 70th minute. Their push paid off with a penalty try earned after working the ball out to centre Maria Sawiak in the corner, getting themselves on the scoreboard.
The T-Birds earned themselves another pair of tries in the final few minutes. First it was
Delaney Woods who punched in a score, before Pye put the cherry on top of her fantastic night with one more down the outside.
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The Thunderbirds don't have much time to enjoy their win before getting back out there, with another match against Calgary on Thursday, September 26th. The quick turnaround won't be easy, but with some players now returning from injury the squad has some reinforcements.
"We're starting to get some of our players back," added Murten. "We were struggling at the start of the year, so they're coming back at the right time now…it's just look after the bodies and keep fine-tuning things."
That match against the Dinos begins at 4:30 p.m. (PT) at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.
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SCORING SUMMARY
       1   2   F
UBCÂ Â Â 47Â Â 38Â Â 85
ALBÂ Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 7
1' – UBC Try – #15
Olivia Sarabura (#10
Savannah Bauder convert) 7-0 UBC
7' – UBC Try – #11
Adia Pye (#10 Bauder convert) 14-0 UBC
14' – UBC Try – #11 Pye (#10 Bauder convert) 21-0 UBC
23' – UBC Try – #11 Pye (#10 Bauder convert) 28-0 UBC
30' – UBC Try – #11 Pye (#10 Bauder convert) 35-0 UBC
33' – UBC Try – #11 Pye (#10 Bauder convert) 42-0 UBC
38' – UBC Try – #11
Mya Koleba (#10 Bauder convert missed) 47-0 UBC
HALF
43' – UBC Try – #1
Kiki Idowu (#14
Brooklyn Roddham convert missed) 52-0 UBC
51' – UBC Try – #19
Jesse Knaggs (#14 Roddham convert) 59-0 UBC
54' – UBC Try – #2
Maddy Thran (#14 Roddham convert) 66-0 UBC
66' – UBC Try – #15 Sarabura (#14 Roddham convert) 73-0 UBC
70' – ALB Try – Penalty try (no convert) 73-7 UBC
72' – UBC Try – #13
Delaney Woods (#14 Roddham convert) 80-7 UBC
78' – UBC Try – #11 Pye (#14 Roddham convert) 85-7 UBC
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