KELOWNA, B.C. – The UBC Okanagan Heat women's basketball team gave the visiting U SPORTS No. 5-ranked UBC Thunderbirds all they could handle on Friday night but ultimately fell 87-74 at the Furnace.
The difference in the match was the play of UBC in the opening half. The Heat managed to keep the Thunderbirds within striking distance for much of the first 20 minutes until a 6-0 run by UBC in the final minute, assisted by a pair of Heat turnovers, gave the Thunderbirds a 13-point cushion.
The Heat would play UBC straight up in the second half, with each team scoring 38 points, but UBCO would get no closer than seven points in the final 20 minutes as they dropped the first of three meetings with their sister-school rivals.
Lauren Foullong of Orangeville, Ont., led the Heat's offensive charge, pouring in 14 points thanks to a trio of three-pointers, while adding two rebounds.
Temi Aina of Kamloops, B.C., was strong off the bench, scoring a season-best 13 points to go with seven rebounds while
Lily Pink of Kelowna, B.C. added 11 points.
UBC's Olivia Weekes of Winnipeg paced all scorers in the game with 20 points.
The Thunderbirds would finish the game shooting 44.4 percent from the floor while the Heat shot 41.3 percent, including hitting seven three pointers. However, UBC was stronger on the boards, grabbing 48 to the Heat's 36, and the Thunderbirds were able to turn the Heat over 30 times on 18 steals, compared to 24 turnovers for UBC on eight Heat steals.
The loss drops the Heat to 3-6 on the season as they sit in sixth place in the Canada West Pacific division. As for UBC, they improve to 8-1 and hold down top spot in the division.
UBCO will wrap up the 2024 portion of their schedule on Saturday afternoon when they host the UFV Cascades at the UBCO Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. and tickets for the game can be purchased at the door on game day.
