UBC books spot in CW Final with 74-68 win over Regina

VANCOUVER, BC - With a National Championship berth on the line, the UBC Thunderbirds used a 19-15 fourth quarter to defeat the Regina Cougars 74-68. With the win, UBC will play in the Canada West Final next week and can look forward to returning to the U SPORTS Final 8 that will take place March 5th to 8th at Laval in Quebec City, Quebec.

For UBC, Jaeli Ibbetson led the way with 18 points and went 11 of 16 from the free throw line. Ibbetson added 12 rebounds for the double-double and drew nine fouls in the game. Olivia Weekes added 13 points and 14 rebounds for a double-double of her own. UBC would score 34 points off the bench, with Cassie Joli-Couer scoring 12 and Stella LaGrange and Jade Huynh adding eight each.

Regina was led by fifth year Canada West All-Stars Cara Misskey and Jade Belmore. Belmore finished with a game high 28 points and eight rebounds. Misskey added 14 points, five steals, four rebounds, and three assists.

"As hard as these are on me as a coach the reality is that last week, we were playing a number six ranked team, this week it was the number four seed and that's why it's going to be these types of close games," said UBC head coach Dave Taylor. "We found a way here two-weeks in a row and for us we're following our game plan, with more shots, by winning the rebounding battle and we got to the line and then made stops when we needed to in the second half."

Regina came out flying in the first quarter to build up an early 6-0 lead. Sara Toneguzzi would get UBC on the board with a 3-pointer, but UBC struggled to keep Regina out of the paint. Fans were treated to fast and furious action back and forth and eventually a 22-17 lead for Regina after the first. 

UBC would lock down their defence and limit Regina's points in the paint to just 2 in the 2nd quarter, after giving up 14 in the first. Fifth years Ibbetson and Joli-Coeur would make their presence known, scoring a combined 13 points in the quarter and going 9 of 10 from the free throw line. The half would end with a Joli-Coeur turn around jump shot and a 42-37 lead for UBC.

Belmore would look to rally the Cougars in the third, knocking down a 3 early and scoring 12 points in the quarter. UBC would continue to rely on their depth, including a tough lay up as the shot wound down by Sofia Bergman to tie the game at 50. Weekes and Belmore would trade three-pointers and two free throws by Huynh would set up an exciting fourth quarter.

Ibbetson would really step up for the T-Birds in the fourth quarter, knocking down a shot from beyond the arc before grabbing three consecutive defensive rebounds to limit Regina to just one opportunity per possession. A side-step three-pointer by Belmore would cut the UBC lead to 3 with just 1:17 left, but the patience of Toneguzzi would lead to an easy Weekes layup and a five- point lead. The Cougars would leave it all on the floor, but UBC would sink their free throws to take the 74-68 victory.

"I think resiliency," added Taylor when asked about what he's learned about his team in his first year. "Like tonight, how good are Jade Belmore and Cara Misskey with Regina, like anybody who didn't know that before tonight and I obviously knew but 28 points for Belmore and 14 for Misskey while in foul trouble, they were having success but we kept doing our thing and that's what I'm proud of in just handling adversity."

UBC will now await the winner of the University of Calgary and University of Saskatchewan for the Canada West Championship Final. You can catch the action next Saturday, Feb. 28th at 2 p.m. PST at War Memorial Gym.