On Thursday night, the UBC women’s basketball team fell to the University of Victoria Vikes 78–75 in overtime in Victoria.
It was close until the end, but the Vikes came out of the gate looking to upset the top-ranked T-Birds and got their way. The ‘Birds gave up many points from fouls — Victoria earned 22 points from free throws.
First-year Keira Daly had a big game for UBC, earning 25 points, 7 assists, 7 steals and 6 rebounds. Mona Berlitz and Sara Toneguzzi were the next offensive leaders with 13 and 12 points respectively.
For Victoria, it was a full team effort as all five starters reached the double digits for points. Mimi Sigue stood out as an offensive and defensive leader with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
The Vikes started off with high energy and earned a 5–0 lead to start the first quarter. In the third minute, Daly got the T-Birds on the board with a layup. In the 10th minute, Berlitz made a step back three and closed the gap to make the score 19–17, but UBC still ended the first quarter trailing.
In the second quarter, the Thunderbirds shifted the energy with a couple of big three-pointers. Toneguzzi made the first and Daly made the second after a defensive stop by UBC to tie the score at 24–24. The rest of the second half played out with a lot of back and forth, but Victoria held onto the 38–35 lead at halftime.
The third quarter had high energy and pressure from both teams. In the third minute, Toneguzzi stole the ball to breakaway and increased the score to 42–38, but UBC was still trailing. The ‘Birds earned their first lead of the game in the eighth minute with a three by Olivia Weekes to put them up 49–48.
The T-Birds led 53–51 to start the fourth quarter but the game was anyone’s as the score stayed tight. In the sixth minute, Berlitz made another easy layup for UBC after a steal to maintain their lead. With 14 seconds left, UBC was up by one but Sigue got a shot off to tie the score. The Thunderbirds could not finish the game in the last seconds, and it went to overtime where Victoria secured the 78–75 win.
Although they lost, UBC remains first in the conference, now 12–2 in the season.
Next, the Thunderbirds will be heading to Langley to play the Trinity Western University Spartans on Friday January 31 and Saturday February 1.
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