Coming off a 80-53 win over the Dinos on Friday night, the T-Birds women's basketball team continued their smooth play to keep their win streak alive with a 67-56 win in the second game.
The Thunderbirds started off the game with some superior defence, leading to a handful of transition buckets. Cassandra Knievel (11 points) and Kris Young (12 points) led the pack in the first half. Knievel had flawless vision up court, finding teammate Adrienne Parkin on back door cuts and Harlene Sidhu under the hoop for easy baskets. The Dinos had no answer for the energy UBC was playing with, they had nowhere to go on offence, settling for long twos and heavily contested three pointers. Calgary’s defence was no match for the Thunderbirds’ quick ball movement; UBC was able to capitalize off Young’s Russell Wilson-like long bombs.
Fortunately for the Dinos, they were able to stay in the game thanks to a phenomenal post presence by Kelsey Lund, who finished the first half with nine points and five rebounds.
The second was very much the same story; the quarter kicked off with Parkin making a beautiful pass to a cutting Sidhu who wrapped up the impressive chemistry with two easy points. Young continued her tremendous play with relentless penetration to the hoop -- she ended the game with a game-leading 20 points.
Kara Spotton was a beast on the boards. Offensive or defensive, she made her presence noticed while the Dinos watched in awe. High energy was the theme for this Saturday night battle; the team who got involved and secured loose balls had the upper hand for the whole night. The T-Birds forced UofC to lob passes, giving them no chance to form any rhythm on offence, and capitalizing on the other end.
Sidhu wrapped up the third quarter with a very pretty and-one basket, pumping up the crowd and leading her troops into the final quarter. Sidhu finished the game with 19 points and six rebounds.
This tired Calgary group never let the game get away from them until the bitter end; their pressure ensured the game stayed within reach. However, their continuous settling for low percentage shots didn’t help their cause, shooting a surprising 44 per cent from the field, and a concerning 7 per cent from beyond the arc.
With the second season just around the corner, this upbeat Thunderbird squad can’t afford to let up. “We must continue to get better,” said head coach Deb Huband. “With only four league games left, this is when the season is on the line.”
It is make or break for the Thunderbirds at the latter part of the season, but with the efforts they displayed this weekend, things are looking pretty good.
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