LANGLEY, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds fought off a strong third quarter surge by the host Trinity Western Spartans Friday night, answering back with a decisive final frame to earn a 79-61 win at the Langley Events Centre.

Keira Daly paced the T-Birds (13-2) with 21 points while Jessica Clarke earned her second double-double of the season with a 12 point, 11 rebound effort as UBC bounced back with authority after a rare loss in Victoria last Thursday.

The Spartans (8-7) trailed by 13 points at the half but cut UBC's lead to just five points at 56-51 heading into the final frame, ultimately falling to their cross-town rivals for the sixth straight time after the 'Birds outscored the hosts by a 23-10 margin in the fourth.



UBC came out of the gates guns a blazing, taking a 16-point lead before the first quarter was even half over, finishing the opening frame with 29 points, a gap of 11 over the Spartans.

In the second quarter, UBC and TWU traded points with the Thunderbirds maintaining a slight advantage through the quarter. A late three-pointer by Keira Daly widened UBC's lead to 40-27, with UBC finishing the frame ahead 44-31.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Spartans cut the UBC lead to four points, 54-51 with the Spartans outscoring the Thunderbirds 20-12 in the quarter.

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The Spartans were looking to close the gap in the final 10 minutes, but the Thunderbirds capitalized on turnovers and three-point shooting to outscore the Spartans 23-10, closing out the game with the 18-point win.

UBC shot 43.9 percent from the field with 19 total steals to Trinity's six.

The two Pacific Division rivals meet again Saturday for the third and final time this season. Tipoff at the Langley Events Centre is set for 4:00 p.m. with the game available live on Canada West TV.