Cole Tweed, Heat Sports Information
KELOWNA, B.C. – The Heat women's basketball team took on their sibling school, the UBC Thunderbirds in the annual "Shoot for the Cure" game on Friday night in the UBC Okanagan Gymnasium and fell to the visiting T-Birds 82-55.
A tight first half kept the home team and the home crowd into the game but the Thunderbirds scored 53 points in the second half to run away with the contest in Kelowna.
The deficit may have been too large for a UBCO miracle comeback but the Heat hit four threes in the final frame to finish with a total of seven on the night, raising $350 for the U SPORTS Shoot for the Cure.
The Thunderbirds with the win move to 9-8 on the season tied for eight in the conference, they also have a two-game bulge on a playoff spot. The Heat (0-17) however remain searching for their first win on the season.
First Half:
Scoring was sparse for the first five minutes with the visitors up 9-4 at 4:39 remaining in the first. A bucket by UBCO's Anastasia Evans closed the score to 15-10 and a counter bucket by Keylyn Filewich closed out the first quarter with the Thunderbirds making it 17-10.
After a quick jumper by Emma Jonas to start the Heat off in the second quarter and then the Thunderbirds went on to widen the gap with a 7-point run, bringing the game to 24-12 at 6:44. A Heat timeout, and two quick scores from Kate Johnson and Emma Jonas made it 24-17. Claire Feasby hit a three for the Heat and Filwich finished the basket and the free throw and the teams traded field goals as the first half was concluded with the Heat trailing by seven (29-22).
Second Half:
The third quarter saw the T-Birds with a 14-6 run in the first half of the third Anastasia Evans knocked down a pair of threes in the frame and the UBC closed out with a 7-2 run to as the third ended with a score of 58-37 for the Thunderbirds.
The fourth quarter began with UBC's Maddison Penn scoring another three, she finished with four (4-7) on the night, and the Thunderbirds took control for the next two minutes expanding their lead over the Heat to 67-39.
Emma Jonas, Vanessa Botteselle, would knock down back-to-back threes for the home team to cut the deficit to 22 (67-45). A pair of late threes by fifth year Shenelle Tamminen added to the Shoot for the Cure totals but Madison Penn and Keylyn Filewich combined for 47 points as the game ended (82-55) for UBC.
Shoot for the Cure:
The "Shoot for the Cure" game, at UBC Okanagan has the Heat donate $50 for every three-point shot made by UBC Okanagan to Cancer research. Although the team finished with seven threes and raising $350 the money was slow to roll on for the charity. It was freshman guard Claire Feasby with only make from long distance in the first half. Anastasia Evan did her part in the third hitting two successive threes. Starting guards Emma Jonas and Vanessa Botesselle each hit one in the fourth and then graduating guard, Shenelle Tamminen playing in her final Shoot for the Cure game hit two late in the fourth.
Key Performers:
UBC Okanagan:
Kate Johnson led the Heat with a total of 13 points, five being field goals and three being free-throws. Anastasia Evans and Shenelle Tamminen both played well with two three-point shots made each, and ten and eight points respectively.
UBC:
Maddison Penn played a great game with 26 points in total, nine being field goals, four three-point shots, and four free throws. Keylyn Filewich also played well with 21 points in total, but ten being field goals, and one free throw.
By the Numbers:
The UBC Thunderbirds led in most categories, with 53.1% of field goals made opposed to UBC Okanagan's 33.9%. The Heat made 31.8% of three-point shots and 46.2% of free-throws. The Thunderbirds made 36.8% of three-point shots and 63.6% of free-throws. The Heat did lead in the steals category, with 10 steals to the Thunderbirds' nine.
Next Up:
The UBC Okanagan Heat (0-17) and UBC Thunderbirds (9-8) will face off again tomorrow night, with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m. PST in the UBC Okanagan gym. This wil be the final home basketball game for the UBC Okanagan squad.