Stu Walters / UBC Thunderbirds

VANCOUVER – The Northern BC Timberwolves rallied from an early 10-point deficit and relied on efficient shooting the rest of the way en route to a 77-60 road victory over the UBC Thunderbirds Friday afternoon in front of an energetic young crowd at War Memorial Gym.

Madison Landry led the way for the T-Wolves scoring a game high 19 points while Alina Shakirova added 16 points and Maria Mongomo chipped in with 15 points. Vasiliki Louka recorded a double double, scoring 12 points and collecting 13 rebounds for UNBC who snapped a two-game slide while seeing their record improve to 9-8.

Maddison Penn had a team-high 15 points and 14 rebounds, and surpassed 1,000 career points in Canada West regular season play. Keylyn Filewich managed 12 points and six rebounds. Madison Legault chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds for UBC who saw their nine-game winning streak halted and their record drop to 12-5 on the season

"I think today we played as a team, we helped each other and had good energy," said UNBC head coach Sergey Shchepotkin. "I was happy with our overall defence and we shot the ball well and of course were a bit lucky with some buzzer beaters that also gave us energy."

The T-Birds got out to a quick start and a 10-0 lead behind the enthusiastic and boisterous support from the kids in attendance for school day and the 1:00 p.m start before the Timberwolves would claw back to eventually trail 13-11 midway thru the frame. Penn would hit one of her two field goals increasing the lead to 15-11 ahead of a nice Hailey Counsell runner in the lane pushing the advantage to 18-13 for the hosts. Mongomo would then make her presence felt once again taking it inside to draw the hoop and the harm and after she made the free throw as part of her team high seven points it would bring UNBC within two points at 18-16. Abby Gibb would follow up with a three-point play of her own as she hit from beyond the arc as time expired and a 19-18 lead for the visitors at the end of the first quarter. Landry recorded six points and Gibb added five points for the T-Wolves while Penn had a quarter high nine points for UBC and Legault was dominant on the boards with seven rebounds.

UNBC continued their momentum forward and was a force to reckon with in the second period as they outscored UBC 18-7 thanks to a 32 percent shooting percentage compared to just 16 percent from the hosts. Louka recorded six points and did some early damage down low giving the T-Wolves a 23-18 lead. Penn would hit from distance to pull within 23-21 before Mongomo would respond with a three pointer and a 26-21 cushion. The T-Wolves would increase their led as the quarter progressed and would strike for five quick points just before halftime as Shakirova hit two free-throws with just 1.2 seconds left on the clock and a 34-25 lead. On the ensuing inbound play Landry intercepted the pass around midcourt before calmly spotting up for a three-point dagger as time expired and a 37-25 advantage at the break.

The T-Wolves continued their efficient play coming out of halftime and like the second quarter enjoyed a disparity in scoring of 24-13 in the third frame thanks to 55 percent shooting from the field compared to 31 percent from UBC. Julia Gallant scored a quarter high eight points for UNBC thanks to a sizzling 3-3 from the field. Gallant hit her first of two three-pointers for a 52-33 lead midway through the period before UNBC ended the quarter with a second consecutive buzzer beater from distance. This time it was Gallant heaving a shot from just over mid-court as time expired for a 61-38 lead after three quarters. Louka added six points for the T-Wolves while Landry chipped in with another five points. Meanwhile Filewich and Legault each scored four points for UBC while Penn collected seven rebounds.

UBC would respond by outscoring UNBC 22-16 in the fourth quarter but the 23-point deficit following the third frame was too much to overcome in what was an eventual 77-60 loss. Tanis Metcalfe led the 'Birds with all six of her points in the final quarter while Counsell added five points.

The teams will meet once again tomorrow night with tipoff set for 5 p.m. at War Memorial Gym.

PHOTO: Rich Lam / UBC Thunderbirds