Stu Walters/UBC Thunderbirds

VANCOUVER – Maddison Penn was a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the floor in leading the UBC Thunderbirds to a 69-58 victory over the Trinity Western Spartans, Friday at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver.

The Thunderbirds got off to a quick and conscientious start, which included a mix of stingy defence, combined with scoring in transition, which helped them get out to a 19-10 first quarter lead.

The 'Birds increased their lead to 40-21 at halftime with help from third-year guard Jessica Hanson pouring in 11 of her 14 total points after 20 minutes of play. Hanson was also dangerous from beyond the arc draining three of her six, three-point attempts. Spartans fourth-year forward Tessa Ratzlaff scored six of her team high 15 points at the halfway mark.

The Spartans showed some spirit in the second half in outscoring the 'Birds 37-29 to cut into the 19-point deficit, narrowing it to an 11-point differential by the final horn. Spartans fifth-year forwards Ashleigh Barnes and Kayla Barnes helped the cause with nine and seven points respectively.

When asked about her standout night, Penn chose to instead focus on her team's effort. "We really wanted to up the tempo, we practiced that all week so that was a huge key for us and it really showed this game. We moved the ball well as a team and that's how we got it in the end."

When pressed on what allowed her to be so dominant in the rebound department the third-year Kinesiology student said "I think I just wanted it, I don't think there's any other words, I just was really tenacious."

Second-year forward Keylyn Filewich added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunderbirds who improve to 4-3, while the Spartans saw their five-game winning streak snapped and their record fall to 5-2 on the Canada West season.

The Thunderbirds and Spartans will meet again on Saturday night at War Memorial Gym.

PHOTO: Rich Lam/UBC Thunderbirds