Women's basketball drop both games to Regina Cougars

After winning four straight games, the UBC women’s basketball team lost two at home against the Regina Cougars.

The T-Birds’ first game ended in a tight 71-69 defeat, where the Cougars managed a lay-up in the final second of gameplay to break a tie. Despite the loss, an impressive scoring performance by Diana Lee during the second half did help UBC come back from a double-digit trail.

On Saturday, the T-Birds fell 69-61. They opened the first quarter with noticeably stronger defensive play that kept the Cougars’ scoring to a mere four points. Andrea Strujic, Kara Spotton and Shilpa Khanna combined for a total of four blocks. On the offensive side, UBC scored 13 points, which included a three-pointer from forward Adrienne Parkin and three free throws by Spotton.

“[The Cougars] are the number one scoring team in Canada West, so for them to have a four-point quarter is incredibly uncharacteristic,” said Deb Huband, UBC's head coach.

With the T-Birds leading 13-4 after the end of the first quarter, Spotton continued to show strong offence and defence in the second, scoring six consecutive points and earning two steals. She finished the game with 18 points and currently places third in the CIS for scoring.

“[Spotton] is capable of scoring double digits and rebounding double digits in every game,” said Huband.

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Despite the strong start, UBC’s dominance began to subside during the second quarter. Although trailing 19-8 during the second minute, the Cougars had a momentum surge that propelled them to a 27-23 lead by halftime, including three-pointers from Sidney Dobner, Kehlsie Crone and Katie Polischuk.

The T-Birds never managed to recover from the deficit as the scoring gap widened to the double digits during the third quarter. Lee and Andrea Strujic combined to eight of UBC’s 10 points on three layups and one jumper as the T-Birds trailed 55-42 by the end of the third.

After struggling during the second and third quarters, UBC managed to gain some pace in the final quarter, narrowly outscoring Regina 27-22. However, it was not enough to compensate for the earlier deficit.

“I think our defence was there in the first quarter, our intention was there. It took [Regina] a little while to get going and then, you know, we saw more of what is difficult,” said Huband.

UBC now holds a season record of 6-8 and places fifth in Canada West. They will play their next game on the road against the Victoria Vikes.