The Thunderbirds defeated the University of Victoria Vikes 29–7 on Saturday in their last regular season game, securing a perfect 5–0 record.
Right off the bat, the ‘Birds pinned the Vikes in their own end, commanding the ball offensively for much of the first half. But the Vikes’ defence was physical and did not let UBC past.
Throughout the game, there were numerous knock-ons, dropped balls and missed passes from both teams adding to the scoring stagnation. Savannah Bauder almost put the T-Birds on the board after a 80 metre run but was tackled just shy of the try line.
It was standout rookie Adia Pye who scored first in the 39th minute, using her speed and footwork to get past the Vikes’ defence. The convert went wide of the posts, putting UBC up 5–0 going into the half.
The Thunderbirds came out strong in the second half, maintaining their offensive pressure. It paid off in the 45th minute when Bauder created an overlap, paving way for Pye to score on the outside again.
The Vikes followed quickly after that, exploiting a gap in the ‘Birds’ defence during broken play. Maggie MacKinnon had a successful convert and closed the gap to 10–7. But this would be the only try the Vikes would get.
“It's coming to that time of season where we need to put more detail into defence. And that's what we did this week,” said head coach Dean Murten after the game. “I think what we worked on during the week actually showed with a result.”
UBC added three more tries and to further their lead, including a last minute try by Delaney Woods dekeing around a tired-looking Victoria to end the game 29–7.
The team will travel to Lethbridge for the Canada West Final Four where they will hope to capture a fourth-straight championship. They will start with a match against the hosting Pronghorns on Thursday.
“We beat Lethbridge here quite easily. But we can't take that for granted,” said Murten.
“They will have a big crowd out. It'll be a different environment for us, and we just have to be really mentally prepared and ready for it.”