KELOWNA, B.C. – The UBC Okanagan Heat women's basketball team will tip-off their 2023 Canada West playoff run on Friday evening as they tangle with the UBC Thunderbirds in the opening round of the postseason from the Physical Activity Complex in Saskatoon, Sask.
Fans can watch the game live beginning at 4 p.m. Pacific on
Canada West TV or TELUS Optik TV Channel 1997.
Qualifying for the playoffs for the second consecutive season, this year's version of the Heat is well-poised to make some noise after dropping their opening round game to the MacEwan Griffins as year ago.
The Heat enter their matchup with UBC after a season in which they tied the team record for most wins in a season as they went 10-10 to finish ninth in the conference (based on RPI finish). Head Coach Bobby Mitchell's squad relied heavily on their rebounding and scoring touch in finding success this season as they finished the year fifth in the conference in rebounding with 45.6 per contest and tied for eighth in Canada West in scoring average at 70.8 points per game.
UBCO had three players average 10-plus points per game during the regular season, highlighted by third-year forward
Jaeli Ibbetson of Kelowna, B.C. Ibbetson, who averaged 16.1 points per game, good for 11
th in the conference, set a new school record for total points in a season as she poured in 322 while playing in all 20 games. Ibbetson was also among the league leaders in rebounding as she pulled down 186 for an average of 9.3 per game.
While the Thunderbirds will undoubtedly be looking to shut down Ibbetson, as well as the Heat's usual suspects of
Sofia Ainsa Lluch of Mahon, Spain, and
Kelsey Falk of Vernon, B.C., one who could be a difference maker for the Heat on Friday will be senior guard
Rachel Hare of Kelowna, B.C. Hare has been playing her best basketball of the season over UBCO's last six contests, averaging over eight points per game, providing depth scoring and opening up the floor of the Heat's other scorers.
Across the floor, UBC limps into the postseason having won just two of their past eight games and are facing injury concerns in their starting lineup with leading scorer Olivia Weeks of Winnipeg, listed as a game-time decision.
Regardless of if Weeks plays, the Heat will need to contend with a defensively-stout squad who finished second in the conference allowing just 59.5 points per game.
The Heat and Thunderbirds met twice this season, with each team picking up a victory in their weekend series in Vancouver in January. Dating back to last season, however, UBCO has won three of the last five meetings between the two teams.
Friday's matchup also marks the first time UBCO and UBC have met in a Canada West playoff game since 2017-18 when the sister-schools' women's volleyball programs clashed in the Canada West semifinals.
The winner of Friday's matchup will advance to the Canada West quarter-finals on Saturday, February 18 against the U SPORTS No. 2-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies. That game will also tip-off at 4 p.m. and will be available live on Canada West TV.
