SASKATOON – Despite a strong start, the UBC Thunderbirds were unable to pull out the win against the Saskatchewan Huskies. Going up against the team that had won six of the last eight Canada West titles coming into the weekend, and doing so on the road, the T-Birds put up a good account for themselves for much of the night.
Keira Daly led the T-Birds offensively with 15 points, five rebounds and four steals.
Jessica Clarke added 12 points and four boards off the bench, while
Mona Berlitz had nine points and three rebounds.
Gage Grassick was dominant for Saskatchewan with 31 points, four rebounds and seven assists. Maya Flindall put up 12 points, three assists and a pair of steals off the bench.
The Thunderbirds held the Huskies scoreless for the first three and a half minutes of the game, with floaters from
Sara Toneguzzi and
Olivia Weekes the only baskets during a defensive-minded, physical start to the contest.
UBC's signature defensive pressure was showcased by forcing an over-and-back violation midway through the quarter. Soon after
Jade Huynh hit the first triple of the game, followed by a layup on a nice feed from Clarke on the next play.
The T-Birds held the Huskies to just 3-12 shooting in the first, but the home team's ability to get to the line combined with their ability to force some turnovers on the other end kept it to a 18-13 UBC advantage at the break.
The Thunderbirds stretched their lead to as many as 11 points early in the second, but the Huskies fought back with a triple from Grassick cutting the deficit to six.
A turnaround jumper from Daly made it 33-25, which was followed by a scoring drought with neither team making a field goal for nearly three minutes. It was Saskatchewan who closed the half well – going on a 10-4 run to put the score at 37-35 for the blue and gold at the half, and that proved to be an omen of how things would go after the halftime break.
A three-pointer from Andrea Dodig gave the Huskies their first lead of the game at 40-39, part of a 10-0 run where the home team asserted control over the play. Berlitz ended the UBC drought for the moment with a nice and-one finish, but they were unable to continue to build momentum.
The Huskies outscored the T-Birds 25-11 in the third overall, turning a slim deficit into a double-digit lead heading into the fourth after Flindall contorted in mid-air to land a heavily contested near buzzer-beater.
The beginning of the fourth was very reminiscent to the first quarter, with neither team able to put a scoring run together. The lead remained between 10 and 14 points the entire final frame, with the Huskies able to run out the clock and celebrate their 10th conference title in program history.
UBC, meanwhile, will hold their heads high after earning silver. It's the program's first Canada West medal since they won the conference championship in the 2014-15 season.
Next up for the T-Birds is the INDOCHINO U SPORTS Final 8, hosted on the UBC campus from Thursday, March 13th through Sunday, March 16th. The bracket for the tournament will be announced later this weekend.
