Aaron Martin (UBC Thunderbirds)
VANCOUVER – Take a bow, Diana Lee (North Vancouver).
In the opener of her final regular season series as a member of the UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team, the fifth-year point guard was dominant, racking up a career-high 32 points on 13-of-18 shooting (6-of-10 on threes), while adding three rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Lee was undoubtedly the leader on Friday night, as her T-Birds took down the Winnipeg Wesmen 77-57.
The win helped the 'Birds move one step closer to securing a playoff spot, and that was a direct result of Lee's spectacular showing.
"Well, she wants it," said UBC head coach Deb Huband of her star guard's performance. "Basketball has meant a lot to her in her life – she's battled through a lot of adversity and now, she's in her fifth season. She's a competitor, and she wants it."
Second-year sharpshooter Shilpa Khanna (Surrey, B.C.) knocked down 16 points of her own for the 'Birds, while guard Cherub Lum (Vancouver) and Kara Spotton (Fort Collins, Colo.) each netted 10 points.
Lena Wenke had 18 points to lead all Winnipeg players. Megan Noonan scored 16 while Taylor Thorkelsson had 14 and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Wesmen jumped out in front early, building up a 17-9 lead after seven minutes of action – Thorkelsson was particularly impressive during that stretch, racking up 10 of those Winnipeg points.
Despite seven points from Lee and going 2-for-4 from downtown as a team, the 'Birds found themselves down 22-16 after the opening 15 minutes.
Lee knocked down a three-ball to notch the 'first points of the second quarter, and the 'Birds ran with that momentum. Including Lee's triple, the 'Birds ran off a 7-0 run to take a 23-22 lead just minutes into the second frame.
By the time the buzzer sounded to end the first half, UBC was still holding on to that one-point lead, up 30-29. At the half, Lee led the 'Birds with 12 points, while Khanna had knocked down 3-of-5 from behind the arc for nine points.
A couple of Lee triples helped the 'Birds stave off a push from Winnipeg to open the third quarter, as the 'Birds remained up 36-35 after the first two minutes of the frame.
The Wesmen went ahead 47-44 on a Wenke layup with just under three minutes left in the third quarter. But the T-Birds replied with an 11-1 run to open up their biggest lead of the contest to that, ahead 55-48 as the third quarter came to a close.
The 'Birds stretched their lead out to 14, 66-52, by the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter, as Spotton and Lum both joined Khanna and Lee in double digit scoring.
Even with the sizable lead, the T-Birds continued to press in the late stages of the contest, outscoring Winnipeg 11-2 over the game's final five minutes to seal any doubt about the result.
After Winnipeg knocked down 10-of-16 shots (62.5%) in the first quarter, the 'Birds held the Wesmen to just 14-of-46 shooting (30.4%) the rest of the way.
"I think our defence made a big difference for us as we moved forward, and our offense emerged from that. Some intelligent team basketball and some great work on the boards allowed us to come out ahead by some solid scores in the second half."
The 'Birds can seal up a Canada West playoff spot with a win in the rematch with the Wesmen tomorrow, and Huband isn't letting tonight's score affect her thinking for tomorrow.
"It was one game – we need to take care of business and go for two games here, not leave anything up to chance. Really happy with the start, but that's all it is. A start."
Both teams enter Saturday's regular season finale with a conference record of 8-11, with the winner of the 5 p.m. PT contest at War Memorial Gym earning a Canada West playoff spot and possibly home-court advantage in the play-in round, depending on the results of the Victoria-Brandon game.
IMAGE CREDIT: Rich Lam/UBC Thunderbirds