The UBC women’s basketball team beat the University of Regina Cougars 77–55 in the Canada West (CW) quarterfinals on Saturday at War Memorial Gym.
The second seed Thunderbirds played with everything they had against the seventh seed Cougars in the commanding win. It was UBC’s first home playoff game in six years and they put on a show offensively and defensively, leading the whole game in almost every category.
“It's amazing to host playoff games and be in your home gym, with your home crowd,” said head coach Isabel Ormond.
Jessica Clarke and Olivia Weekes had standout performances for the T-Birds. Clarke earned 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block and Weekes earned 13 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal.
“Those are two really big leaders for us on both ends of the floor … so it's great to see that come out when a game is on the line in playoffs,” said Ormond.
UBC set the tone in the first minute when Mona Berlitz drove to the net for a layup. The T-Bird’s usual defensive pressure was immediate, as Weekes stole the ball to put the team up again. In the seventh minute, Clarke grabbed her own rebound under the net and connected to put UBC up 16–8.
To start the second quarter, Clarke intercepted a pass before banking a jump shot on the other end of the court, strengthening the Thunderbirds’ 29–10 lead. In the last minutes before half, Weekes made a floater at the top of the key and, when later fouled on a layup, made both free throws to increase UBC’s lead to 47.
The T-Birds’ defence was the star of the show as they held a backcourt with two top-ten scorers in CW, including the leading scorer, to only 22 points in the first half.
“We were locked in,” said Ormond. “For me, the 22 points is great, and we were also able to capitalize on the other end of the floor, so putting those together was nice.”
In the second half, the Cougars played sharper offensively but UBC kept with them. The ‘Birds ran into some foul trouble in the second half, which Regina capitalized on with a 63.6 free throw percentage, but it wasn’t enough to take the lead.
The third quarter was defined by offence from Weekes, Clarke, Keira Daly and Emily Martindale. In the first minute of the third quarter, Daly stole the ball and Weekes capitalized on the play making a basket. In the fourth minute, Martindale passed the ball to Clarke under the net to put the T-Birds up 52–30.
To start the fourth quarter, Clarke made an easy layup to make the score 66–38. Although UBC was still in the lead, they were quieter on offence. In the last minutes of play, Nicole Daly made another layup to bring UBC up 77–52. The Cougars made a three-pointer, but with little time left, they gave UBC the 77–55 win.
The T-Birds advance to the semifinals where they will face the University of Alberta Pandas on Saturday, March 1 at War Memorial Gym.
“We're looking at home court advantage for the semifinals next week and hopefully we get an even bigger crowd than today,” said Ormond.
Share this article
First online
