‘You’ve got to start somewhere’

By the end of the first half, the Thunderbirds had 13 steals in the books (to just four for the Timberwolves) and still had a 10-point lead, 39-29.

The T-wolves – led by some aggressive plays in the paint by Pudlas and post player Vasiliki Louka – made a push early in the third quarter. Both players earned trips to the foul line and drained their shots, which helped UNBC pull into a seven-point deficit. But, just when the T-wolves seemed to be gaining some traction, UBC’s Krysten Lindquist drove for a bucket and a foul and successfully finished off the three-point play. The Tbirds were back in control and outscored the visitors 17-12 in the quarter for a 56-41 advantage.

UBC padded its lead in the fourth and left the court with the victory.

Spotton was complimentary of UNBC’s performance in the two games.

In Friday’s opener, the T-birds pre- vailed 74-61.

“I think they had a lot of good things going on with their team,” Spotton said after Saturday’s clincher.

“I think (they have) a lot of players that can definitely put in work over the summer and come back next year and do well.”

Statistically, Penn paced the Thunderbirds with 18 points in 24 minutes of playing time, while Spotton and Lindquist finished with 14 points and 13 points respectively.

Preety Nijjar, a graduating forward for the Timberwolves, led her team with 11 points. Louka had 10 points (8-for-8 from the foul line) and 15 rebounds.

Overall depth proved a difference in the game, as the Thunderbirds got 38 points from their reserve players.

The T-birds advance to play the University of Alberta Pandas in the next round of playoffs. Game 1 is set for Thursday in Edmonton.

For the T-wolves, Saturday’s loss ended their first-ever trip to the Canada West post-season.

“That’s the first stepping stone,” said fourth-year UNBC guard Kylie Pozniak.

“Next year is going to be a little bit more and a little bit more (development). You’ve got to start somewhere and to be the first team to be able to do that is just such a blessing.

“Our mental toughness as a team has grown so much since the beginning of the year and it has to continually increase but I’m proud of how we kept our wits together (against the Thunderbirds),” she added.

Nijjar, with 12 points, also led UNBC in scoring on Friday.

Guard Stacey Graham is the only other graduating member of the Timberwolves.

Nijjar and Graham played a combined 157 games in UNBC uniforms and scored 674 points.