Nearing the end of the fourth quarter, UBC held a slim lead against the UBCO Heat — but with 52 seconds left, a foul call would seal their defeat, sending the 'Birds to their third straight loss.
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At this point in the year, all of UBC’s varsity sports have played their last games of 2025. With the courts, rinks and fields going silent until January, our Sports + Rec team is here to recount how each varsity team has performed thus far.
UBC men’s basketball has never lost a matchup with their “younger brother” program, the UBCO Heat. Midway through the third quarter on Friday Nov. 28, that record felt less secure. In the Furnace in Kelowna, the Birds found themselves barely clinging to a one-point lead and were feeling the heat.
Heading into Saskatoon, the UBC women’s basketball team was looking for revenge, facing the Huskies for the first time after losing to them both in the Canada West final and the U Sports Final 8 semifinals. They weren't able to measure up, as a relatively close game quickly turned into a blowout — losing 80–51 against the defending national champions.
The Thunderbirds erupted for a five-goal first period to take home an 8–4 win against the Golden Bears at home in Father David Bauer Arena, their fourth-straight win against Alberta this year.
Continuing their run of dominance, UBC’s women’s hockey team dominated the University of Alberta Pandas in a 5–1 win on Friday at Clare Drake Arena. The match marked the third time the teams met this season, with UBC dominating the Pandas on all three occasions.
After a marathon two and a half hour match, the Thunderbirds stayed strong in the final seconds, securing a second-straight victory against Trinity Western University, beating them 15–13 in the fifth and final set.
After two early Montreal goals, the Thunderbirds needed to rally to close the gap. They only got halfway there. The T-Birds claimed silver at the U Sports Women’s Soccer Championship, falling to the University of Montreal Carabins 2–1 in the final game of the season, breaking a 42-game winning streak.
In a physical, chippy contest, MacEwan beat the T-Birds for the second time this year, scoring 43 seconds into overtime to end an impressive winning streak, taking the game 5–4 and leaving UBC to wonder why a small school from Edmonton with a losing record has given them so much trouble this year.
In a nail-biting rematch of last year’s gold medal game, the UBC women’s soccer team faced L’Université Laval Rouge et Or in the semifinals at the U Sports Women’s Soccer Championship. After falling down 2–0 early in the game, it looked as though the ‘Birds would be handed their first loss of the year. That was, until Jayda Thompson put on an offensive clinic.
This past Friday evening at the Langley Events Centre, the top two men’s volleyball teams in Canada — the UBC Thunderbirds and Trinity Western Spartans — faced off in a five-set-thriller.
Having represented Canada internationally since 2013, Ivy Liao has had her fair share of accolades and successes — but not much could top when she was in the Olympic qualifiers in 2024. However, while the Olympics would be a dream come true, Liao’s pursuit of greatness in her sport is for more than just the wins.
In the last few minutes of the consolation final, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues scored a goal to cut UBC’s lead to 2–1. For a couple seconds, they could believe they had a chance of winning the consolation title. The T-Birds weren’t about to let that happen.
UBC men's soccer choked back their loss against Montreal, and beat the living daylights out of a clearly inferior opponent. In a game that UBC controlled from the kickoff, the ‘Birds humiliated the Tigers — barely letting them even touch the ball in a 3–0 win that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicates.
The final stages of everything UBC women’s soccer has been working toward this season was finally underway. Coming in as the top seed in the tournament, UBC faced off against the eighth seeded University of Guelph Gryphons in a gruelling quarterfinal match.
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