As the UBC women’s basketball team faced the University of Victoria Vikes in the last game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 7, they had nothing to lose. With their playoff spot well-established weeks prior and first place in the CW Pacific Division clinched with their win over the Vikes the day before, the stakes were relatively low. But as the final game before the postseason, it was a crucial chance to enter the playoffs on a high note. And they did. The Thunderbirds dominated, playing like a team with everything on the line, putting up an impressive 79–51 win over Victoria, earning the weekend sweep and ending the regular season with one more win under their belt.
Before this weekend, the T-Birds sat in first place of the Pacific Division, having a strong enough record to guarantee a home game in the first round of playoffs, sitting at 14–4. Their biggest threat was the Trinity Western University Spartans, who sat right behind UBC, having already played their last game, ending the regular season with a 15–5 record. This meant that if the Thunderbirds wanted to hold onto first place, they would have to win one of the games in their weekend matchup against the Vikes, since they had the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Spartans.
Wasting no time, they crossed this off right away, beating the Vikes in the first of their back-to-back away games in Victoria, winning 67–53 on Friday in a closer matchup. In doing so, they earned the first seed in Canada West, ensuring that, should they continue to win in the playoffs, they’d host every game at UBC.
For UVic, this weekend meant a bit more. The Vikes held a 9–9 record before the weekend, sitting in fourth in the division — but with multiple teams within a game of them — they’d need to finish strong in order to secure a higher seed in the playoffs. After the loss on the first day, they were at risk of falling to fifth in the division, which would leave them as the No. 9 seed overall in the conference. UVic was hoping for the win to set themselves up better in the playoffs and face an easier opponent. Unfortunately for them, the T-Birds were in the way.
Right off the bat, the Vikes faced an uphill battle, as UBC’s defence was stepping up. It’s been a strength of the T-Birds all season — allowing the second-fewest points-per-game in Canada West, only behind undefeated Saskatchewan. They backed up the statistics early, as fifth-year Sara Toneguzzi blocked a UVic attempted three-pointer. She’s not a player you would normally see with a block as a 5’6” guard, but it’s indicative of how this team plays. They are always prepared on defence, playing as a unit, with the potential for a key defensive play from anywhere on the court. Unfortunately for UBC, on offence, they hit the wall as well, with the Vikes’ Makena Anderson blocking fourth-year Stella LaGrange in the paint as she tried for the jumper.
With their defence striking quickly, the Thunderbirds’ offence had not quite warmed up, going scoreless in the first couple minutes. That is until Toneguzzi, once again in the action, went from end to end to score. Her quick transition after a steal gave her a clear shot to the net, banking UBC’s first points of the game, trailing 3–2. It’s this kind of complimentary basketball — the T-Birds’ ability to create offensive opportunities from steals and turnovers — that has made a difference for them this season.
Cerys Merton continued this soon after, getting herself a steal before making moves on offence, sinking a major three-pointer to tie the score at seven for UBC. In their next possession, Merton drove to the basket and quickly passed to Jaeli Ibbetson just outside the paint for an easy jumper. With this, the T-Birds took their first lead of the match, up 9–7. By fueling their offensive success with hard work on defence, UBC was able to revive their struggling attack and not blink after being down early. This will certainly be important for UBC to continue into the playoffs, where they’ll need to maintain their composure in close, competitive games.
Having momentum firmly on their side, UBC continued to roll. With 16 seconds left in the first quarter, UBC inbounded the ball sharply to LaGrange in the corner by the baseline. Launching a catch and shoot three–pointer, LaGrange put the T-Birds up 23–11. After trailing to start, the Thunderbirds quickly took over. It only got worse for the Vikes.
When the second quarter began, UBC continued to give the Vikes trouble in Victoria’s offensive end. With back-to-back shot clock violations, UVic had quickly fallen into a bad rhythm, stuck lagging behind the T-Birds. UBC used the Vikes stagnation on attack to build their offensive momentum, as, a couple minutes into the frame, Maddy Billings got the ball in the paint and tried to find a lane. She was swarmed by the Vikes’ defence, who were trying to match the Thunderbirds pressure. However this overpursuit opened up Weekes — UBC’s most prolific scorer — for an easy jumper as UBC only strengthened their lead, going up 16 to lead 27–11.
The Thunderbirds’ lead only continued to grow, as the Vikes struggled after their somewhat promising start. Nearly three and a half minutes into the second quarter, the Vikes had yet to score. This was a bad sign for Victoria, as UBC’s struggles from earlier had vanished. They continued to have no problems putting the ball in the net, as with Weekes getting the ball behind the arc and going for the three — with nothing but net — UBC went up 34–13.
As the quarter went on, Weekes continued to score for the T-Birds, moving in the paint toward the net. Her first shot didn’t go, but she grabbed the board and with a step back, was able to get the basket. The Thunderbirds work hard to continue earning chances especially with offensive boards, as they are first in the division and tied for fourth in the conference for rebounding. By the end of the first half, the Thunderbirds had completely taken control of the game, leading 49–23 going into halftime.
It was an impressive offensive display in the first half for the Thunderbirds, who were incredibly efficient. They were shooting 51.4 per cent from the field, 46.2 per cent from three and a respectable 71.4 per cent from the line. Making their three pointers had helped UBC quickly flip the game, taking and extending the lead as they racked up the points. Even as they were in a comfortable spot in the game, they continued to excel and dominate.
However, they’d face some pushback in the final 20. UVic had a little more energy to start the second half, looking like the team that had originally started the game hot, as they found more success offensively to chip away from the deficit. But the Thunderbirds would not let them get very far in closing the gap. With another steal, Merton stripped the ball away, passed it into the paint and then got it right back behind the arc, making the three-pointer to go up 58–30. Merton had a total of nine steals in this game — a complete defensive force that the Vikes had no answer for.
As it had all game, their defensive success pushed the offense forward. Establishing a nearly 30-point lead with half the third to go, Billings, standing at the perimeter, launched the ball to Ibbetson for the layup, putting UBC up 60 – 31.
That play was indicative of the Thunderbirds’ good ball movement in this game, making smart passes to get into the paint and use their post players to score.They continued to excel in that regard as the quarter came to a close, as LaGrange pushed the ball out wide to Toneguzzi, who almost went to drive, but with less than five seconds left in the quarter, passed it once again to Ibbetson in the paint, who was able to turn and get it up before time ran out. This put an exclamation mark on a third-straight quarter with more than 20 points, with UBC up 71–40 going into the last 10 minutes.
The fourth quarter of the match was a very different ball game, as the offence slowed down for both squads. It was a low-scoring quarter, with UBC making only eight points and UVic just a little more with 11. For one of the first times since the beginning of the match, the T-Birds began to struggle. In their first offensive possession. Ibbetson drove to the net and couldn't make it. Although UBC got the rebound, it was blocked by UVic’s defence as the ‘Birds tried to put it back up.
Those struggles mattered little. With such a large lead, at the end of the game, UBC rested their starters. The T-Birds bench was able to keep up the pace already set by the starters. Rookie guard Reese Tam stood out in these final moments, charging to the net to make a layup and draw the foul. As the ‘Birds bench played the final moments of the game, UBC ran out the remaining time to officially win 79–51.
Because the Vikes fell to the T-Birds and the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades won their matchup the same day, UVic dropped to fifth place in the division and ninth in the conference. It was a result that made the Vikes’ last game of regular season — and their senior night — disappointing with a loss and drop in the standings. For the Thunderbirds, however, it was nothing but a great game, with lots to celebrate before playoffs as they ended the regular season with 11 straight wins.
UBC would not have lots of time to celebrate, however, as they turn to set their sights on playoffs with their Canada West quarterfinals matchup first. Everything they have been preparing for all season has arrived, as it is make-or-break now for the T-Birds.
They will host as the No. 1 seed in the CW Pacific Division, with their first match on Sunday Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. Following the results of Saturday’s play-in game between the Vikes and the University of Alberta Pandas, the ‘Birds will be facing off against the Pandas, who beat Victoria 64–55 in their first game of postseason action.
It’ll be a tough cross-division matchup, as while Alberta’s 15–5 record was only good enough for fourth in a competitive Prairie Division, it would have tied Trinity Western for second in the Pacific. Aside from their matchup against Saskatchewan earlier this year, Alberta is likely UBC’s toughest opponent yet. The ‘Birds will come in hot with their winning streak intact, and they’ll need every bit of momentum they have to prevail in a tight Canada West playoff field.
