UBC advances to semis with dramatic comeback against Alberta
Trailing by as many as 13 in the second half, the top seeded T-Birds earned a gritty 75-69 comeback win
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Alberta | UBC |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (21-62) | (20-50) |
| Field Goal % | 33.9% | 40.0% |
| Rebounds | 32 | 32 |
| Assists | 12 | 15 |
| Turnovers | 24 | 29 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 37 | 23 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 9 | 14 |
| Pts in the Paint | 32 | 28 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 6 | 17 |
| Bench Pts | 14 | 29 |
Recap by UBC Sports Information
VANCOUVER – For the second straight year, the UBC Thunderbirds found themselves down by 11 at halftime in the playoffs against the Alberta Pandas. And for the second straight year, they proceeded to engineer a fantastic second-half comeback to gut out a massive 75-69 home win.
Olivia Weekes earned her ninth double-double of the season in another strong individual performance, finishing with 21 points, 11 rebounds and six steals. Jaeli Ibbetson recorded a highly efficient 15 points and six rebounds off the bench, while Sara Toneguzzi tallied 11 points, three rebounds and five assists, along with some tenacious defence.
"I thought in the second quarter especially we got a little flustered and we weren't playing our game," said UBC head coach Dave Taylor. "And then we got Jaeli going, we had some big shifts from other people, and we just started playing our game. We were hoping we would wear them down a little bit and we did."
That second quarter saw the Thunderbirds held to just 13 points, a far cry from the opening few minutes when the home team jumped out to a 14-5 lead. The Pandas quickly found their footing, attacking the paint and the offensive glass with relentless pressure.
Mishynn Miller led Alberta with 19 points and 11 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass, before fouling out late. Jayden Tanner added 17 points, four rebounds and four steals.
From midway through the first quarter until halftime, the Pandas outscored the Thunderbirds 36-16, turning an early deficit into an 11-point halftime lead. Alberta grabbed nine offensive rebounds in the opening 20 minutes and shot 14-for-18 from the free throw line.
The visitors' lead peaked midway through the third quarter when a short jumper from Elise Toogood, followed shortly by a made free throw, stretched the advantage to 13 points.
The turning point came when Toneguzzi forced Alberta turnovers in the backcourt on consecutive possessions, leading to an Ibbetson and-one and a layup from Weekes. After Tanner banked in a three-pointer on Alberta's final possession of the quarter, Ibbetson responded with a buzzer-beater from the corner to cut the deficit to 55-50 heading into the fourth.
Both teams battled down the stretch as the game tightened. After Morgan Harris and Rylee Semeniuk helped force three straight turnovers to push Alberta's lead back to eight, the Thunderbirds answered by holding the Pandas scoreless for the next four minutes while mounting a decisive run.
Toneguzzi rebounded her own missed jumper and finished through traffic to tie the game at 66-66 with just over a minute remaining. UBC then clamped down defensively and capitalized at the free-throw line after Alberta committed a pair of costly fouls.
Weekes sealed the outcome with a critical steal off an Alberta inbounds pass while UBC led by two with 25 seconds left. She kicked the ball out to Katie Hartman, who calmly knocked down both free throws to put the game out of reach.
The Thunderbirds closed out a 75-69 victory and will now face the Regina Cougars in the Canada West semifinals, a familiar matchup for Taylor, the former Regina head coach.
"It doesn't get any easier, but we earned the right to be at home, which is awesome," Taylor said. "Obviously I've got a lot of respect for Regina. They run a lot of different stuff than what I did, so it'll be a challenge, but again it's about us and making sure we play well."
The semifinal tips off at 6:00 p.m. PT on Friday, February 20, inside War Memorial Gym.