VANCOUVER – After posting a 6-4 record in the first half of the season, the Thunderbirds have now won six straight to begin the new year and are sitting at 12-4, first place in the Pacific Division.
 
The T-Birds have clinched homecourt advantage for the opening round of the playoffs, and have the chance to guarantee homecourt for their entire Canada West playoff run if they manage to stay ahead of the Trinity Western Spartans (13-5).
 
With just four more regular season games to play, each potential win and loss is crucial in that race for the top seed. A pair of home battles against the UNBC Timberwolves (1-15) this Friday and Saturday is another big step on the path to the postseason.
 
"Obviously you want to play at home," said UBC head coach Dave Taylor. "The reality is whoever you're playing on the other side is going to be a very good team…the two things for me are first to be at home for the playoffs, and then the biggest one is to be playing well."
 
With the games against UNBC being the final ones at home in the regular season, Saturday's game also serves as this year's Senior Night. A veteran-heavy team, the T-Birds will honour eight players this weekend.


 
Olivia Weekes is one of the many fifth-years, and has more than made her mark on the program in her time in Vancouver. The Winnipeg native ranks second in Thunderbirds history in career Canada West rebounds (717 entering this weekend), eighth in steals (146), ninth in blocks (48) and first in free throws made (305).
 
This season she ranks fourth in the conference in points per game (16.0) and is tied for first in rebounds per game (9.2), serving as one of the engines that has driven the T-Birds to their current position in the standings.
 
The longest-tenured player on the roster is Sara Toneguzzi, who began her journey at UBC ahead of the pandemic-cancelled 2020-21 season and has been a starter for much of the last four years. She's averaging a career-best 3.2 assists per game this season, leading the team in that category.


 
Sofia Bergman and Katie Hartman arrived in the same recruiting class as Weekes, and have started 32 regular season and playoff games between them in the five years since. Hartman is one of eight T-Birds to have played in every Canada West game so far this season, while Bergman has come on strong after missing the first three weeks of conference play, boasting two double-digit scoring performances off the bench in the new year.
 
Two of the players set to be honoured this weekend transferred in for their fifth and final year of eligibility while pursuing Master's degrees – Jaeli Ibbetson from UBC Okanagan and Cassie Joli-Coeur from McMaster. Joli-Coeur ranks second on the team in scoring this year at 8.8 points per game, while Ibbetson is third in scoring (7.6) and second in rebounding (7.3).


 
Rounding out the graduating class are Kiarra Kelly and Jessica Orr. Kelly arrived in 2022 and the Toronto native played in her 30th career Canada West game two weeks ago against Thompson Rivers. Orr is a former WolfPack player herself who transferred to UBC ahead of the 2023-24 season, and has been a contributor to the strong culture built up within the team.
 
"The Senior Night game is the game as a coach that you never have to worry about the team being up for," remarked Taylor. "You just know they're going to bring everything that night, and it's a nice feeling. You see the emotion they have, and it's a celebration."
 
The Thunderbirds will aim to continue the strong defensive run that they've had to this point in January, where they've held their opponents to under 50 points in four of their six games. That includes marks of 41 and 36 last weekend against UFV, stifling a Cascades side that had been on a four-game winning streak.
 
"It's been a focus coming out of Christmas," said Taylor on his team's defence. "Trying to create more turnovers, which we've done a good job on. And then last week we were really locked in on our help-side defence and our doubling…the team bought in all week on trying to have a defensive focus and it paid off for us."
 

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The Thunderbirds defeated the Timberwolves 84-49 just two weeks ago in Prince George, the first meeting of the season between the two teams. They'll try to continue their winning ways beginning at 5:30 p.m. (PT) on Friday, inside War Memorial Gym.
 
Senior Night is at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, marking the final chance to see the T-Birds in action at home before the playoffs. Tickets for both games are available online, which will also be broadcast both live and on-demand on Canada West TV.