VICTORIA – The Thunderbirds have clinched home court advantage throughout the Canada West playoffs. U SPORTS No. 8-ranked UBC (15-4) took a 67-53 win over the Victoria Vikes (9-10) at CARSA Performance Gym on Friday to lock up the Pacific Division title and the No. 1 seed in the conference post-season.

Despite struggling with her shot, Olivia Weekes had another massively impactful game for the T-Birds. The graduating senior had her eighth double-double in the last 11 games, posting 19 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. She did most of her damage from the line, going 12-13, for a season-high in free throw attempts and makes.

With the team's second leading scorer Cassie Joli-Coeur unavailable, two other graduating seniors stepped up with big games for the 'Birds. Katie Hartman had a season-high nine points, while stuffing the stat sheet defensively with three steals and two blocks. Sofia Bergman continued to play the best basketball of her UBC career, posting 11 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.



The first quarter was dominated by defence, with neither team hitting a three or exceeding 35% shooting from the field. Weekes was chiefly responsible for the T-Birds taking an 11-10 lead out of the frame. Down 6-4 with two minutes left, she went coast to coast for an and-one layup, before stealing an inbounds pass soon after, drawing a foul, and knocking down both of her free throws.

The Vikes were the first team to find their offensive rhythm, putting together a 9-0 run by the six minute mark of the second quarter to jump out to a 22-14 advantage. Though Victoria eventually stretched its lead to 11, the 'Birds battled back. Bergman poured in seven points in the final four minutes of the frame, including knocking down her first three of the season, while Cery Merton added three free throws to help UBC slice the deficit down to a manageable four points, 30-26, by half-time.

Bergman was back at it early in the second half, knocking down an early jump shot and finishing a layup to become the first T-Bird to reach double figures. The blue and gold still struggled to hit their shots however, staying in the game thanks to tenacious defence, strong offensive rebounding, and their ability to get to the free throw line. A Jade Huynh three with three minutes to go in the third gave UBC its first lead since the start of the second quarter at 41-38. That seemed to spark the visitors, as they poured on the pressure in the final minutes of the quarter and extended their edge to 46-41.



The fourth quarter saw the T-Birds maintain a steady but surmountable single digit advantage for the first five minutes. UBC introduced more pressure packages, making Victoria visibly uncomfortable and holding the home side to just one point over a five minute stretch, gaining its first double digit lead at 58-48 with two and a half minutes remaining in the process. The 'Birds held the Vikes to 23 second half points overall, 12 in the fourth quarter, as they opened things up further in the final minutes to secure a 67-53 win.

UBC's remarkable free throw shooting was a key factor in the comeback win. The T-Birds knocked down 85% of their attempts from the stripe (28-33) in order to steadily score points, despite struggling to consistently knock down shots against the Vikes' lengthy defence.

The two teams rematch in their regular season finale back at CARSA Performance Gym on Saturday, with tip-off set for 5:00 p.m. (PT). Stream the game, live or on demand, on Canada West TV.