VANCOUVER - The Canada West-leading UBC Thunderbirds (12-1) took down the team sitting one spot behind them in the Pacific Division, the University of Fraser Valley Cascades (9-5), 88-69 at War Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday. Both Mona Berlitz and Keira Daly posted 20-plus points for the T-Birds to sweep both the weekend and season-long series, also marking the fifth straight win for the blue and gold.
 
"We fought, we didn't stop when they made a comeback, we kept going," reflected UBC head Coach Isabel Ormond. "It's not like every game you win and you're happy about every aspect. Fraser Valley did a lot of things that gives us something to work on."

Following Friday night's game, where UBC held just a one-point lead at half but finished strong for a 30-point win, the 'Birds looked to come out firing on all cylinders in this one. Following tipoff, the blue and gold began on a 10-2 run, but their momentum was halted slightly when, following a missed T-Birds' shot, Cascades guard Maddy Gobeil snagged the rebound, turned, and fired a pinpoint pass, nearly the length of the court, to teammate Esther Allison who drove and laid in the layup through contact, before converting the and-one opportunity. Despite this surge in energy for the visitors, the 'Birds were not looking to roll over.


 
Now on offence, Berlitz collected the pass down low and turned to throw up a jumper. As it bounced off of the front of the rim, Berlitz stayed with it and picked up her own rebound before putting home a bucket through contact, earning and converting the and-one opportunity. Berlitz followed that up with consecutive assists on the next two possessions, leading the charge for her team as they ended the first quarter up 24-9. 
 
The second quarter began with a bang as the Cascades' Allison was found wide-open in the corner and proceeded to hit a nothing-but-net three. Yet, just as the visitor bench erupted, the T-Birds set up on the other end, leading to Keira Daly responding with a three of her own. Daly followed that up with a tough drive to the basket on the following possession, weaving through traffic as she managed to get off a smooth finger roll to reestablish the T-Birds' 18-point lead. Both teams exchanged blows through the final minutes of the half, highlighted by multiple offensive rebounds from UFV to create extra possessions, but the 'Birds held strong, heading into halftime up 44-24.
 

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Coming out of the break, it was all Fraser Valley. UFV's Allison began the frame the same way she began the second, with a corner three. Just a couple of minutes later, teammate Nikki Cabuco followed suit with a three of her own to beat the shot-clock buzzer. The Cascades kept pushing, and with Allison still consistently finding the net, from both inside and outside the arc, UFV was closing the gap. Allison scored her twentieth point on a putback layup after she chased down the offensive rebound, bringing the score to 52-38 in favour of UBC, and with plenty of time left. A timeout seemed to right the ship for UBC as both teams fought hard and ended the frame with UBC leading 58-43.
 
The Thunderbirds found their stride once more in the fourth, displaying smooth passing for multiple scores, highlighted by Daly pulling out a euro step in transition for the easy lay-in to earn a 21-point lead. The 'Birds continued to find ways to score while converting timely defensive stops throughout the frame, eventually walking away with the 88-69 victory.
 
UBC's Mona Berlitz filled the stat sheet with 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block, while teammate Keira Daly tallied 21 points off the bench and pulled in three steals in the process.


 
"[Daly] puts in a lot of work and definitely came in ready to go," said Ormond. "She has really adjusted well to the pace and size of play. We're really happy with her IQ and how she's playing on the floor for us."
 
UFV's Esther Allison had her prints all over this one, finishing the day with a double-double, posting a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds — six of which came from the offensive end. Maddy Gobeil added 13 points of her own, with nine rebounds and six steals. 
 
The UBC Thunderbirds will head to the province's capital next week as they face the University of Victoria Vikes for a one-game matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (PT) on January 23.