Michael Sexton, UNBC
PRINCE GEORGE, BC -
The University of Northern British Columbia's Women's basketball team picked a great time to earn its first win of the season, defeating the UBC Thunderbirds 75-65, Friday November 10th at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre.
The first two quarters was nearly identical from both teams in this battle with a score of 31 - 33 in favour of the UBC Thunderbirds.
A strong start in the third quarter for UBC led to a 13-3 run, giving the T-Birds an eight pont advantage. That did not deter UNBC's Madison Landry, who led the UNBC Timberwolves with 23 points in the first three quarters.
A 16-4 run for the home side to finish the third quarter had saw UBC's lead shrink to three, 56-53.
"We kept our intensity, even when we full a lull, we kept our energy level up," said Landry postgame. "We need to keep running the floor, and keep energy on defense."
In the fourth quarter, UNBC coach Sergey Shchepotkin put freshman Alina Shakirova on UBC leading scorer, Maddison Penn. The change paid dividends for the TWolves, as they forced the visitors' offense out of sync.
Her highschool and UNBC teammate Landry was quick to give the first-year guard credit.
"Alina is an amazing defender. We usually put her on the other team's key player, and she was a huge factor in today's win."
A 17-3 run to finish the game saw the Timberwolves pull away, top top UBC by ten points.
"They keyed on our key players, but we weren't hitting shots," said UBC guard Jessica Hanson. "It's tough out there when you can't hit open shots."
Landry paced her hometown team with a career-high 27 points.
"Getting games in last year gives me a new level of confidence. You get used to the pace of the game, so that experience is helping."
With the victory, UNBC improves to 1-4, while the T-Birds drop to 3-2 on the season. They will clash again tomorrow night, tipoff scheduled for 5 PM.
"We are so young, and a game like tonight, our youth really shows," said Hanson. "Tomorrow we are going to come out stronger."