VANCOUVER – On opening night of the Canada West regular season, the Trinity Western Spartans came into War Memorial Gym and utilized a strong fourth quarter to take the 76-67 victory.
Mona Berlitz would lead UBC with 23 points, shooting an efficient 9-of-16 from the field, with Cerys Merton chipping in 10 points and 5 assists for the Thunderbirds.
Not only would Berlitz find ways to score, but the veteran showcased her playmaking ability with 4 assists.
"Obviously she can help us score, so that's important for us, without a doubt," said UBC head coach, Dave Taylor, on Berlitz' return to Canada West action for the first time since the end of the 2024-25 season.
For the visitors, Cassidy Buchanan led the way with 19 points and 7 steals and Myrlaine Shelvey added 15 points and 5 steals of her own. The Spartans generated 17 steals as a team, and turned UBC turnovers into 20 points.
Both teams came out hot from the field to start the game, with Trinity Western getting quickly on the board with a layup from Buchanan to open the scoring.
Berlitz and Emilia Banmann, both returning from injuries that had them miss all of last season, helped UBC shoot 10-of-18 from the field to start the game, with Berlitz going 3-for-3 and Banmann knocking down two of her own.
After a back and forth quarter, TWU's Shelvey would make a layup as time expired to go into the first quarter break with UBC leading 24-20.
Berlitz would continue to lead the way for UBC and a balanced effort would have UBC shoot 7-of-15 from the field, with eight Thunderbirds hitting the scoresheet, but they would enter the half down 45-42.
After going down by as much as eight in the third quarter, UBC would flip the script on TWU and hold them to just 23.5% from the field, limiting them to 11 points.
Banmann would make a huge impact on the defensive end for the Thunderbirds, taking two charges. Back-to-back layups by Berlitz would give UBC a 59-56 lead heading into the final frame.
A Mavleen Chahal three-pointer at the 8:20 mark would tie the game at 61-61 and lead to a UBC time out. Turnovers and five steals in the fourth quarter for TWU would allow them to grab the lead at the 7:58 mark and not look back.
"In both the defensive end in the first half and the offensive in the fourth quarter, we didn't perform, we didn't execute," reflected Taylor after the game. "It's just consistency, I've said that over and over again, it's just a matter of being able to do it for 40 minutes."
UBC will look to bounce back with a full 40 minutes on Saturday night as they head down the highway to the University of the Fraser Valley for a matchup with the Cascades at 4:00 p.m.
