After a heartbreaking home court loss to the University of Calgary Dinos in the Canada West finals, the UBC women’s basketball team needed a win, badly. Having come so close to the conference championship title for the second year in a row, the loss stung. But then, it got worse for UBC. Because of their loss to Calgary, they were handed a lower seed in the ensuing national tournament, Final 8, being ranked fourth. As the four seed, they were set them up to face off against the defending national champions, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
A couple of weeks ago, the Huskies were the favourite to win both the conference and nationals, being ranked first all season in the national polls. Yet, after an undefeated regular season — going 20–0 — their 51-game winning streak came crashing down in a close semifinal battle against the Dinos. Calgary was able to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the season, beating them 61–58 to advance to the Canada West finals, where they eventually beat UBC to become the 2025-2026 conference champions.
Typically, a semifinals loss in conference play is a death knell for a team’s season, as U Sports usually only includes conference champions and finalists in their national tournaments. However, even though Saskatchewan was not a conference finalist, they still made it into the tournament in the field’s one wild card spot.
The Final 8 includes an at-large berth, determined by a series of four tiebreakers, the first of which is win-loss record, including playoffs. With their 21–1 mark, the best in the country, the Huskies stayed alive.
With the at-large berth, this seeded them fifth in the tournament, making them the Thunderbirds’ first opponent in the quarterfinals match. In a national tournament, this would usually be an opponent UBC knows very well, being in the same conference — but considering how good Saskatchewan has been all year — that is not the advantage it would normally be.
The T-Birds narrowly escaped playing them in the Canada West Final, which may have seemed like a good thing at first. After all, they fell to them in last year's conference championship, settling for silver. It seemed like they had avoided a repeat of history. However, with this turn of events, they would now have to play the Huskies with so much on the line. The quarterfinal match in any U Sports tournament is particularly important, as it determines whether you will go on in the tournament to play for a medal — or solely a consolation prize.
For UBC, while the Huskies have been an unstoppable force for every team, the T-Birds in particular have struggled with them. They lost to them twice in the regular season in back-to-back away games, where they were demolished 80–51 and 93–70. After the Huskies ended their bid for a Canada West title, they also met them again in the Final 8, where the Thunderbirds fell by over 20 points, effectively ending their season. They were forced to play for bronze, which they lost in a tight race, 68–61 against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees earning fourth place.
UBC has had a strong season, with their 16–4 record and finish as conference finalists. This does not hold a candle to the Huskies dominance as a team. If they had any hopes of improving on their fourth-place finish from last year, they would have to play their absolute best game of the season. And more.
While the likelihood of two teams upsetting the Huskies back-to-back seemed slim, in the playoffs and throughout this season UBC has shown grit, as well as the ability to overcome a deficit and come up clutch in a game. However, as they were entering this tournament off a loss, the question would be whether the Canada West finals loss had shaken them — or if it lit a fire under them.
Unfortunately for UBC, it was the former. They struggled almost all game offensively. They could not find success in the paint against the Huskies’ intense defence. With UBC plagued by turnovers and fouling trouble, Saskatchewan dominated the whole game. The Huskies held the lead from the tip–off to the last buzzer, eventually toppling them 71–55 in a one–sided showing.
Getting their first points on the board right off the tip-off, Saskatchewan immediately showed off the offensive prowess they’ve become known for. Ella Murphy Wiebe set things up for the Huskies right away, flying in for a layup in the first few seconds. They quickly controlled play, getting a 5–0 lead.
This is typical. Saskatchewan is first in the country at offensive shooting and third in offensive rebounding, standing out as one of the best offences in Canada. The Thunderbirds would have to work hard to stop them from dominating at the net — which was already a struggle, a minute and a half in.
Second team all-Canadian Olivia Weekes finally got things going for UBC, as they made their way onto the board. Facing a tough, complete team like the Huskies, the T-Birds would have some trouble finding lanes once Saskatchewan’s defence was set. Because of this, they needed to take advantage of them when offset, pushing the offence in transition. Attempting to cut into Saskatchewan’s early lead, fifth-year Jaeli Ibbetson was able to do exactly this, drawing a foul. But then, she couldn't capitalize at the line, missing both her shots. This was unfortunately a theme for UBC on the rare chances they had free throw opportunities.
Yet, as the game settled in, both teams' offence became a little slow, having trouble connecting. With the Huskies’ offence not in high gear anymore, UBC was finally able to catch up. Down 9–2, Weekes — trying to muscle her way to the basket — was denied under the net, but she was able to save possession and get it off to Cassie Joli-Coeur in time in the paint. Joli-Coeur dished it to Cerys Merton behind the arc, and as she went up for the three, she found nothing but net. This momentum continued, as fifth-year guard Sara Toneguzzi sunk a jumper to make it a two-point game.
They wouldn’t keep it close for long. The T-Birds were turning the ball over and losing possession. When they were making moves on offence, they were struggling to connect, especially in the paint, as they could not get past the Huskies to the net. At the end of the first quarter, they were down 19–11 — already in a bad place. If they continued to play like they had in the first quarter, it would be much of a game for UBC.
Early indications in the second weren’t positive. The Huskies picked up right where they left off, as fourth-year Maya Flindall drove and made a reverse layup to put them up by ten at 21–11. With their season slipping away, UBC head coach Dave Taylor called an early timeout. It seemed to have worked.
Out of the timeout, UBC picked up their energy with a quick 5–0 run, starting with another three–pointer. That may have been the one thing UBC had going for them in this game — success from behind the arc. This was keeping them in it, as with their threes, they could quickly cut down their deficit. Continuing to close the gap, rookie Brooke Wagner went down in the paint, but was stopped by a wall of Huskies. She kept the play alive, however, being able to get it through the backdoor to Sofia Bergman for the layup. The lead was down to five.
Then, back-to-back Canada West player of the year and first team all-Canadian Gage Grassick finally got the Huskies their first three-pointer of the game, as unlike UBC, they had been struggling from range. Left open, she found nothing but net.
Not only were the Thunderbirds struggling to stop the Huskies on offence, but they also kept sending them to the line — hurting their chances of keeping up. With over four minutes left in the second quarter, they almost had Saskatchewan in bonus while the Huskies were already leading 25–16.
It wasn’t just the free throws that were causing issues, either. Key contributors such as Weekes, arguably UBC’s best player, were in foul trouble. In the first quarter, Weekes had quickly racked up two fouls
The defensive struggles continued. They could not stop them from scoring, as Grassick again connected at the net with a fader in the paint to balloon their lead backup to nine. Their offensive spark was gone too. Every time the T-Birds had possession, they were swarmed by the Huskies and double–teamed.
Eventually, it was Toneguzzi who brought them back in it, sinking back–to–back three-pointers for UBC, closing the gap to 31–24. She lit a fire for the Thunderbirds’ offence, continuing to produce throughout the quarter, getting fast break points off a Stella LaGrange steal. With Toneguzzi leading the way, the T-Birds had a good burst of energy at the end of the second quarter, cutting Saskatchewan's lead to five before a Grassick three in the final seconds had UBC going into halftime down 34–26.
It was a low-scoring first half for both teams, but especially so for UBC. In almost every conceivable way, the Huskies were dominating offensively. UBC only had two free throws. They missed both. The Huskies were outdoing them in the paint, with Saskatchewan doubling UBC from that part of the court, up 20–10 after the half. From the field, UBC wasn’t hitting their shots, shooting just above 30 per cent, while the Huskies were at nearly 40.
Really, the only way the T-Birds were finding their success on offence was in transition. As the Huskies did everything they could to disrupt their chances on offence, UBC would have to find new ways to score to catch up in the second half.
Yet, coming out of the locker room, not much had changed. To start the second half Saskatchewan only continued to dominate, as the one-sided game continued. Flindall opened the third quarter with a three–pointer, continuing her particularly strong game, with her and Grassick scoring over half of Saskatchewan’s points thus far. For UBC, Toneguzzi continued her hot streak, responding with a long-range shot of her own to bring the score back to an eight point game 37–29.
As the third crept on, building off Toneguzzi’s fiery start, UBC started to look more like themselves. Their defence had turned up the intensity, making a great play to force a shot clock violation, with Weekes almost stripping the ball away, lunging to fight for possession. On the other end of the court, this defensive success set them up well with Toneguzzi open on the perimeter for another three-pointer. UBC was quickly only down by five at 37–32. After a post-season of close, fourth quarter victories, it seemed like they could maybe come back.
They wouldn’t have even been in this position if not for Toneguzzi. Scoring 21 points, she went five for eight from three to blow past her career-high. She was named player of the game for UBC, adding four rebounds and three assists to her team-high point total. Despite her best efforts, once again, however, the ray of hope for the Thunderbirds fizzled out. Struggling on offence again, the ‘Birds only scored four points in the next five minutes, as Weekes, typically their best offensive player, had picked up her fourth foul with just under five minutes left in the third quarter and was taken off the court. Even though Toneguzzi was filling this gap admirably for the T–Birds, it wasn't enough, as they were down 51–40 going into the fourth quarter.
With only ten minutes left in the match, UBC needed every possession to count. With Weekes back in, they got off to a good start, as she sunk a three–pointer three minutes in. It was too little, too late. Saskatchewan only extended their lead throughout the final ten, with UBC trailing by as many as 17 points about halfway through the fourth quarter, down 63–46. The Huskies had started to run away with it.
With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Weekes earned her fifth personal foul and officially fouled out of the game. Racking up those fouls early caused major issues for UBC, as her presence was missed throughout the game. In the end, after a completely dominant showing, Saskatchewan took the win 71–55, eliminating the Thunderbirds from medal contention.
While it was certainly not the game the T-Birds would have hoped to play, it’s fair to say they were outmatched from the start. They were facing an absolute giant of a team — much better than the typical No. 5 seed — as the Huskies held the lead all game, showing off why they are the defending champions.
While UBC has been knocked out of medal contention, they wouldn’t be out of nationals quite yet. After losing in the quarterfinal, they’ll be placed in the consolation bracket, taking on the other three losing teams in a fight for fifth place. With the consolation game happening the day after the quarterfinal, the Thunderbirds will have to immediately shake off this loss and prepare for their next battle.
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold — who earned the one seed after ending as the OUA champions with a 20–2 regular season record — also had a tough quarterfinals match. In a massive upset, they fell to the host team, L’Université Laval Rouge et Or, in a tight contest. They fought to the last possession, but they missed the three–pointer to tie it and fell 57–54.
As such, TMU was also bumped to the consolation side of the tournament, and UBC would face them the next day. With this match, the T-Birds would fight to extend their season to another game, as a loss would be the end of their campaign. The Thunderbirds would have to play much better than they did in this game, and having to face the first seed, they could expect it to be another tough battle.
