VANCOUVER – A stifling defensive effort helped the UBC Thunderbirds draw first blood in their best-of-three quarterfinal series with Saskatchewan on Friday, as they topped the Huskies 57-47 at War Memorial Gym.
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BOX SCORE
The T-Birds seized control right off the starting line, jumping out to an 8-0 lead and making it 18-6 by the end of the first quarter. The Huskies were just 3-for-17 from the floor in the quarter.
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"We came out of the gate very well, almost like we were on a mission," said UBC head coach
Deb Huband. "Our starters did a great job getting a leg up and setting the tempo, and they got us a lot of momentum to start the game."
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The UBC lead hovered around the 12-point mark for the rest of the night, and never fell below 10. Much like their lone regular season meeting, which the Huskies won 55-53, neither teams shot the lights out on Friday, as they both fell well below their season average shooting percentages. But they both went at each other with a tenacious defensive effort, forcing scorers to really earn every point. The Huskies shot 31 per cent from the floor and UBC shot 34 per cent.
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"For the most part we were able to maintain that defensive effort," Huband said. "We had moments where we didn't, but overall I thought our defensive effort was outstanding and we didn't give up many easy hoops, and made them earn most of what they got."
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Kris Young led the 'Birds with a strong all-around performance, scoring 16 points to go with 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Harleen Sidhu had 16 points and seven boards, and
Adrienne Parkin added 11 points.
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A big factor in UBC's success was their effort to shut down Huskies star forward Dalyce Emmerson. She did end up with a double double, scoring 10 points with 12 rebounds, but the 'Birds made her fight for every inch and were very adept and denying entry passes for her. She had just two points in the first half.
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"We played them not too long ago and certainly have a lot of respect for this program. Dalyce is obviously a key to their team and she's an All-Star for a reason, so we know what she can do, but we did a great job defensively as a group tonight."
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The Huskies also got 10 points from Antoinette Miller of the bench. She was the only player on either team to shoot above 50 per cent from the floor, hitting five of six shots. Kiera Lyons and Kabree Howard each had nine points.
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The T-Birds have a chance to close out the series in game two on Saturday night, but Huband says the team mindset shouldn't change now that they have the advantage.
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"We have to come out like its zero-zero, put a strong 40 minutes together and earn what we get."
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UBC and Saskatchewan play game two at War Memorial Gym on Saturday night, tipping off at 5 p.m. Game three, if necessary, will go on Sunday at 2 p.m. The winner of the series goes through to the Canada West Final Four.
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