Mid-Season Issue 2015-16 MID-SEASON REPORT The Thunderbirds tipped off regular season action in Fourth year centre Andrea Strujic led the rebounding early November with a home stand against the Alberta effort with seven boards on the night. The T-Birds hit the Pandas. Coming off an eight game pre-season schedule road the next weekend to take on the #1-ranked team in that saw the young ‘Birds finish with a 3-5 record, the the country, the Saskatchewan Huskies, and struggled to home team was excited to measure find the net in the opening game, themselves against a traditionally Kara Spotton dropping the contest 69-49. Spotton strong Canada West opponent and (16) and Lee (14) led the way for the keep building on the progress made ‘Birds, who got out-rebounded 47-19 in October. The home opener was a on the night. The T-Birds bounced tight contest throughout the first back with a strong effort on the glass half, with UBC taking an eight-point the following night, winning the lead into halftime. However, and 18- offensive rebounding battle, but 0 Alberta run that lasted through the once again UBC struggled to end of the third and into the fourth convert around the rim and were quarter proved to be the undoing in only able to put up seven points in a 72-67 loss for the T-Birds. Fourth the opening frame. Lee and Spotton year forward Kara Spotton led the combined for 36 of the team’s 46 home team with 17 points and eight points, and UBC dropped to 2-3 on rebounds, while rookie Jessica Hanson added 16 points, the season with the 68-46 loss. UBC was on the road going 3-5 from downtown on the night. Saturday’s again the following weekend for the final league games of rematch told a similar story, with the two teams sharing 2015. An 18-5 second quarter for Calgary was the the lead for most of the first half, until Alberta pulled away difference-maker, as the home team rolled to a 70-50 with a 26-16 fourth quarter. Spotton once again led the win. Hanson was the only T-Bird in double-digits with 13, ‘Birds in the 69-54 loss, with 13 points, while seniors while Shilpa Khanna had a career-high nine rebounds in Adrienne Parkin and Diana Lee added 11 and 10 the loss. Saturday’s game was a much tighter match-up, points, respectively. UBC was at home again the with UBC finding their offensive groove early on. Khanna following weekend for a double-header against Trinity counted for 11 points in the first half, and despite being Western. The Thunderbirds were dominant defensively in down eight early in the fourth quarter, UBC battled back the second half, holding the Spartans to just 18 points in to take a one-point lead on an offensive rebound and put- the final 20 minutes to seal the victory 77-53. Spotton back from Parkin with 34 seconds left. The ensuing action proved a challenging match-up, counting for 26 points in found the ‘Birds down by two with the final possession, 27 minutes while grabbing nine rebounds. Lee (14) and but a buzzer-beating three-point shot couldn’t find its Parkin (12) assisted with the ‘Birds point total, and rookie mark, and UBC dropped the contest 74-72. Spotton Krysten Lindquist made her offensive mark, scoring 11 dropped 29 points, including 11-13 from the free throw points in the second half. Game two of the weekend line, Parkin added 12 points and five rebounds, while series saw UBC continue to create offence off of their rookie T-Birds Hanson and Khanna added 11 apiece. defence, highlighted by a 14-0 run in the second quarter After taking on three of the top four teams in the that would spur the 73-57 win. Lee matched her UBC conference, UBC enters the December break with a 2-6 career high with 21 points, while Hanson added 18 points record and are looking forward to having a strong of her own, including going 7-8 from the free throw line. second-half performance starting in January. UBC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL IN THE COMMUNITY The Women’s Basketball team prides itself on striving for excellence in the “three C’s”: on the Court, in the Classroom and in the Community. Over Diana and Jess with Thunder the first half of the season we have been involved in several different activities and events to help make a difference in our local community. For the second straight year, UBC Women’s Basketball has brought the “Raise-a-Reader” campaign to the UBC campus and helped raise funds to support literacy programs for children and adults in BC. This year the women’s basketball team was joined by a number of other Thunderbirds teams, who collectively raised over $550, which doubled the amount raised in 2014, and contributed to the provincial total of over $21,000. The Women’s Basketball team also had several members volunteer their time as course marshals at the Canuck Place Adventure Race in early September, which was a fundraising obstacle course that raised money for the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. UBC Women’s Basketball was also happy to continue their partnership with the Vancouver Girls Basketball Association by providing coaches and role models through a series of Saturday morning basketball clinics at Britannia Secondary School. Another ongoing initiative that we have been supporting for many years is the I’m Going to UBC program put on by the UBC TREK team. This unique program brings students from Vancouver elementary schools to the UBC campus and partners them with UBC varsity athletes, who take the students on a tour of campus and assist with a basketball skills clinic before bringing them to a UBC women’s basketball game. The IGUBC program is a great opportunity for young students to experience campus life at Krysten and Thunder UBC and to highlight our student-athletes as positive, hard-working role models. UBC WELCOMES BACK MALE TRAINING SQUAD FOR 2ND SEASON For the second consecutive year, the UBC Women’s Basketball team has been training with a male practice squad to enhance the level of competitive play in their practice environment. The eight-member group, which includes four players who trained with the team last year, challenge our players with their length, strength and athleticism in 1-on-1 drills, transition games and full-court scrimmages, and assist in simulating the style of play of upcoming opponents to help with game preparation. All members of the training squad are UBC students whose field of studies include Commerce, Engineering, Nursing and Kinesiology. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated and hard-working group assist our team in our continual pursuit of excellence. 2016 SCHEDULE There is lots of basketball to look forward to in 2016 with six home league games slated for War Memorial Gymnasium. Come out and cheer on your T-Birds as they compete for the Canada West Championship and a berth to the 2016 National Championships in Fredericton, NB. Fri-Sat, January 8-9 vs. Lethbridge 6:00pm / 5:00pm Fri-Sat, January 15-16 @ Manitoba @ 4:00pm / 3:00 pm Fri, January 22 vs. Regina 6:00pm Sat, January 23 5:00pm Donor Appreciation and 10th Anniversary for 2006 CIS Champs Fri-Sat, January 29-30 @ Victoria 6:00pm / 5:00pm Fri-Sat, February 12-13 @ Brandon @ 4:00pm / 3:00 pm Fri, February 19 vs. Winnipeg 6:00pm Sat, February 20 5:00 pm Senior night Home Games in Bold Pacific Standard Time Mark Tewksbury at the ZLC FINANCIAL MILLENNIUM BREAKFAST UBC Athletics is proud to present the 17th annual Millennium Breakfast on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016 along with title sponsor ZLC Financial. This breakfast is dedicated to raising funds for annual and endowed scholarships funds (Ruth Wilson Memorial, Cheryl Kinton Memorial) for UBC’s varsity athletes - funds that are matched dollar for dollar by UBC. With your support, this powerful fundraiser – the most successful in Canada – has raised more than $11 million for student athletes since it began in 1999. This year’s breakfast will feature speakers Mark Tewksbury and Debbie Muir. Mark is an Olympic Gold Medalist, Chef de Mission 2012 Canadian Olympic Team, and Humanitarian. Debbie is the coach of Olympic champions, including Mark, as well as a Hall of Famer, and High Performance Expert. Mark and Debbie are dynamic co-speakers who actively engage with the audience and speak to achievement, leadership and legacy through personal stories that reflect the experiences and strong bond of our own Thunderbird coaches and athletes. This is UBC’s Centennial year and we’re planning a great event! Please mark your calendars for this year’s breakfast on Tuesday, February 23rd 2016 as we celebrate our Centennial year in sport. Date: Tuesday, February 23 2016 Time: 07:00 am to 09:00 am Location: Vancouver Convention Centre - East Please visit www.gothunderbirds.ca/breakfast DONOR NIGHT AND 10TH YEAR 2006 CIS CHAMP REUNION January 23, 2016 – 5:00 pm game tip-off, War Memorial Gymnasium UBC Basketball would like to recognize all of you who have generously supported the UBC Women's Basketball Team this year. To make the evening extra special, we will also be honouring the 2006 UBC Thunderbirds Women's Basketball CIS Champions for the 10th Anniversary of their victory. Come join us courtside for this special donor appreciation night and 2006 CIS Championship reunion to cheer on our student athletes in their game against the University of Regina.