VICTORIA – The UBC Thunderbirds (12-2) suffered just their second loss of the season Thursday night as they were narrowly defeated by the Victoria Vikes (8-5) on the road in overtime.

Keira Daly stuffed the stat sheet for the T-Birds with 25 points, six rebounds, seven assists and seven steals – all of which except rebounds were season-highs. Mona Berlitz put up 13 points and seven boards while Sara Toneguzzi scored 12 off the bench.

All five starters for UVic scored in double figures in a very balanced offensive attack. Karis da Paiva recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while Abigail Becker had 15 points and nine boards before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.



The Thunderbirds got off to a slow start, as they fell behind 11-4 early. Jessica Clarke and Sofia Bergman combined for 10 of the first 14 UBC points as they helped get the offence going. The T-Birds kept it close throughout the first quarter but couldn't pull ahead as they finished the first 10 minutes down 20-17.

The second quarter was more of the same. While there was a brief tie at 24 points apiece after consecutive triples from Toneguzzi and Daly, the Vikes continued to counter-punch whenever UBC made a push.

The home team went up by six points in the dying moments of the first half, before Maddy Billings hit a three-pointer in the final seconds to cut the lead to 38-35 at the break.

UBC finally earned their first lead of the night with less than three minutes to play in the third. It came from an Olivia Weekes triple from the top of the arc, following a pair of buckets from Daly. The T-Birds managed to nurse a 53-51 lead to the end of the third, hoping to see the game out in the fourth.

The final quarter of regulation was a defensive battle to begin, with a sweet high-low feed from Clarke to Bergman serving as the only two points for either team in the first four minutes.



The Vikes then suddenly ripped off seven points in a row to go up 58-55. However, that only served to energize the T-Birds as they reeled off a 7-0 run of their own, with Berlitz canning a three to go up four with four minutes to play.

With the game tied and under a minute to go, UBC forced an eight-second violation in the UVic backcourt. They made the turnover count as Daly set up Clarke for a bucket inside, putting all the pressure on the home team.

It was Mimi Sigue who came up clutch for the Vikes, as she had to force up a shot from the foul line as the shot clock was about to expire. Despite the fact that it was contested by two Thunderbirds, the ball somehow rattled around and dropped with just two seconds left on the clock. A shot from Daly from well behind the three-point line dropped short on the other end and the game headed to OT.

Overtime was a tense battle, with neither team going up by more than three at any point. This time it was UBC who found themselves trailing with the shot clock turned off, down by one with the ball with less than 20 seconds to play. Unfortunately, they were unable to generate a decent look, and after two made UVic free throws from an intentional foul with 0.8 seconds left, the T-Birds couldn't land a prayer to tie it at the buzzer.

Despite the loss, the Thunderbirds still hold a three-game lead at the top of the Pacific Division, and need just three more wins in their final six games to clinch the #1 spot. They now have eight days before their next action, when they take on the Trinity Western Spartans on the road on January 31st and February 1st.