By Ahmed Najdat (UBC Sports Information Assistant)
VANCOUVER – A season-best performance by Kris Young led the UBC Thunderbirds to an impressive 80-53 victory vover the Calgary Dinos Friday night at War Memorial Gym. UBC outscored the Dinos 63-29 over the final three quarters and forced 32 turnovers on the night to earn their seventh consecutive win.
It was a statement game from Young, who led the Thunderbirds with 29 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Calgary started the game with a 7-0 run that set the tone the rest of the first quarter. Dinos' guard Kristie Shiels was perfect from the floor, leading the Dinos with eight points and a 24-17 lead after 10 minutes of play.
The 'Birds started their comeback with a 10-3 run in the second quarter. Four minutes into the period, UBC tied things up at 29-29 after trailing the entire game. Calgary managed to balance themselves and enter the break with an 36-36 tie.
A halftime wake up call was enough to spur UBC back to form. The Dinos were unable to match the speed and aggression of the 'Birds who went on a 12-2 run. The 'Birds defence was at maximum attention as they only allowed the Dinos seven points in the third quarter. UBC scored 21 of its own points to lead 57-43 after three quarters of play.
In the final quarter the Thunderbirds didn't hesitate to push forward and increase the gap. The 'Birds' bench played a great 10 minutes to eliminate any chance of a Dinos comeback. The game ended 80-53 for the Thunderbirds.
The highlight of the night was the unmatchable performance by Young. She scored a season-high 29 points, despite sitting most of the fourth period. Young's game seemed to be turned around after she missed an easy layup in the first quarter.
"When I miss a layup I don't think about it," said Young. "Today just felt like everything was working out for me tonight. I was being aggressive."
Adrienne Parkin finished with 10 points, while Harleen Sidhu produced another good performance with nine rebounds and eight points.
The Dinos' were led by forward Kelsey Lund with 11 points and Claire Colborne with 10 points.
UBC have are yet to concede a loss in 2015. They are now 12-3, while the Dinos fall to 9-3.
When asked about the team's great performance since returngin from the winter break, Young said, "It's like the mountain, we try to peak at the end, we are just getting better and better and we look to build on each game."
The two teams will meet again tomorrow at 5 p.m. at War Memorial Gym.
IMAGE CREDIT: Rich Lam/UBC Thunderbirds