It was much tighter than the final score on Friday night, but the UBC Thunderbirds came out victorious over the University of Regina Cougars on the last day of February with a 68-63 win.
Friday night was a walk in the park for the ‘Birds, who came out hard and handily disposed of the Cougars 75-59. The effort was led by Harlene Sidhu who had a game-high 23 points.
Saturday night in the War Memorial Gym saw a sleepy UBC team in the first half as Regina jumped out to a 21-4 lead by draining nine of their first 10 shots thanks to some stellar work from Polischuk, Kajati, Coppola and Kot.
The home team wasn’t about to be embarrassed on home court, however, as they promptly went on a 11-2 surge to get themselves back in the game. They followed that up with a 15-2 run to get back where they belong: in front. T-Birds Kara Spotton, Cassandra Knievel and -- surprise, surprise -- Harleen Sidhu were the main contributors to the magical second quarter, which ended 32-30 in favour of UBC.
They continued that energy for the third quarter, giving up 11 and scoring 21, enough to carry them through the rest of the game and Regina’s fourth quarter push that saw them score 22 in a desperate effort to claw back into the game. The Thunderbirds were able to strap down on D and get the buckets when they needed them. Five points ended up being enough of a difference to end the Cougars’ season, and the T-Birds walked away with the win.
Sidhu capped off an extraordinary weekend with 21 points and eight rebounds. She was an animal in the paint and took the game in her hands when UBC needed their talented leader. Right behind her was the impressive Kris Young who finished Saturday night with 11 points and seven boards in her 38 minutes on the floor.
Regina’s starters had a strong final game, highlighted by Kajati’s 16 points and an outstanding 10 rebounds in just 28 minutes on the floor. Also, all starters reached double digits, despite the heartbreaking loss.
We spoke with Young after the game about how it felt knowing that her time as a Thunderbird was coming to a close, and her expectations for her last playoffs as a T-Bird. “I have had an amazing career at UBC. Of course I would like to add a national championship to the list before I head out, but no matter what happens I have had an unforgettable five years as a Thunderbird,” said Young before celebrating the series win.
The women’s squad now heads to their next challenge: hosting the Canada West Final Four. The ‘Birds will play the University of Alberta Pandas on Friday at 6:00 p.m. at War Memorial Gym. The teams split the two games they played this regular season, UBC dropping the first one by a score of 63-71 but storming back the next night to take it 73-66. The Pandas finished in third place in the Pioneer Division with a regular season record of 16-4. They’re coming into the Final Four hot, as they decisively swept the MacEwan Griffins in their home quarterfinal series by scores of 87-58 and 67-46.
The other matchup will feature the universities of Victoria and Saskatchewan squaring off. The winner of that will face the winner of the Alberta/UBC game to decide who’s heading to Quebec City for the CIS finals.
-With files from Jack Hauen