LANGLEY, British Columbia – After a sluggish start the UBC Thunderbirds rounded into form in the second half to come from behind and secure a 74-61 victory to complete the weekend road sweep against the Trinity Western Spartans Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday night. The T-Birds outscored the Spartans 38-21 in the second half en route to securing the win, improving to 14-2 and remaining atop the Pacific Division standings while TWU fell to 8-8 on the campaign.
 
Leading the way for the 'Birds was Olivia Weekes with a game high 20 points and seven rebounds while Keira Daly added 17 points, five rebounds and two steals. UBC's Jessica Clarke and Mona Berlitz chipped in with 10 points each while grabbing six and five rebounds respectively. For the Spartans it was Cassidy Buchanan contributing 13 points, seven assists and three rebounds, while Shemaiah Abatayo poured in 11 points.


 
TWU clicked early in jumping out to a 29-18 lead after 10 minutes of play thanks to shooting 61.1 percent (11-18) from the field, while the Thunderbirds shot 46.2 percent (6-13). In the second quarter, the Thunderbirds' full-court pressure forced the Spartans into eight turnovers, as UBC outscored TWU 18-11 to cut the Spartan lead to four points, 40-36, at the half-time break. In the half, TWU shot 45.7 percent (16-35), while UBC shot 38.7 (12-31) and continued to struggle from beyond the arc missing all five of their three-point attempts.


 
The Spartans and Thunderbirds were even throughout much of the third quarter but the visitors began finding more of a rhythm. It started with Weekes stepping up to drain UBC's first three-pointer in seven attempts on the night to even the score at 47-47. Shortly thereafter it was Daly driving through the lane to collect the hoop and the harm, converting the free throw to give UBC its first lead since early in the first quarter at 50-49. All in all, the T-Birds outscored the hosts 21-13 in the third frame on the strength of an efficient 62 percent shooting (8-13) while also causing seven TWU turnovers to claim a four-point, 57-53 lead heading into the final 10 minutes. UBC's defensive pressure continued to cause the Spartans problems in the final quarter. The Spartans shot 3-10 in the final quarter to the T-Birds 8-12, as UBC outscored TWU 17-8 over the final 10 minutes to earn the 13-point, 74-61 win.


 
UBC would enjoy the edge in several key categories while turning the tides in this one, ending up on the right side of the steals battle 16-12, helping build the 28-16 disparity in points off turnovers. The 'Birds also we're on top 34-21 in points off the bench and won the battle inside with a 50-30 advantage off points in the paint.
 
The T-Birds will now return home after two straight weeks on the road to host the UBCO Heat for a weekend series beginning Friday February, 7 at 5:30 p.m. with the rematch going on Saturday February 8 with a 4 p.m. PT tip off at War Memorial Gym. If you can't join us in person, you can catch all the action on canadawest.tv