VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds kicked off the 2025-26 Canada West regular season with a convincing 71-47 win over the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades Friday evening at War Memorial Gym. The veteran UBC squad caused turnovers all night and were able to get their first win under new head coach Dave Taylor.
 
"Obviously we're always happy to open with a win," said Taylor. "I thought we did a lot of really good things, some things we need to work on but I thought we were good, I think we have some room to grow still to get where we want to be great."

Olivia Weekes led the way for the T-Birds with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Jade Huynh hit four, three-pointers and finished with 14 points. Rookie Brooke Wagner chipped in with 9 points and 7 rebounds.


 
UFV's Julie Tuchscherer led all scorers with a game high 26 points on an efficient 11 of 17 shooting and added four rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. Fania Taylor chipped in with nine points and five rebounds for the visitors.
 
After UFV started the game on a Tuchscherer 4-0 run, Jaeli Ibbetson scored her first basket as a Thunderbird to put the home team on the board. Down 11-7 midway through the quarter, back-to-back three-pointers by Cerys Merton and Huynh helped flip the momentum towards a 18-15 UBC lead at the end of the quarter.
 
UBC would come out on fire with a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, including forcing four straight turnovers. Following a steal from Stella LaGrange, Sara Toneguzzi would make a layup to give UBC their largest lead of the first half, 36-21 at 3:13 of the second quarter. Rookie Brooke Wagner would close out the quarter with two free throws to give the Thunderbirds a 40-27 lead going into the half.


 
"When we created a little separation in the second quarter it was due to our collective defensive intensity which allowed us to get stops and get out and run," added Taylor. Jade Huynh also gave us a really good burst of energy which helped but we're at our best when we're out running, getting an early score and if not trying to get it inside. I also thought our bench did a great job tonight outscoring their bench 33 to 5 which makes a huge difference and speaks to our depth.

Cassie Joli-Coeur would start the quarter half with back-to-back buckets for UBC and Wagner would score her first Canada West basket as the 'Birds would extend their lead through the quarter. Tuchscherer would keep UFV in it, including hitting a three pointer and cutting the lead down to 12, but Huynh would close the quarter with another three-pointer to increase the T-Birds advantage to 58-39 for heading into the fourth.


 
Merton opened the final frame with another three-pointer for UBC, but UFV would eventually turn the tables and hold UBC without a field goal for the final 6:44 of the game. It would prove to be too late, as the T-Birds were well on their way to securing a 71-47 victory.
 
"With this team I think what's going to take us the furthest is just how connected we are and how much we care about each other," concluded Taylor. "When we work hard and combine it with also working smarter, we're going to be a really dangerous team."

The Thunderbirds are back at it Saturday night as they'll head down the highway to take on Trinity Western University at the Langley Events Centre. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. on Canada West TV.