RECAP: ‘Birds defeat Heat in first of doubleheader 

Thunderbirds’ offense efficient in home court win over UBC Okanagan. The Heat get another chance at UBC on Saturday before the end of the semester. Tip-off at 5 p.m.

FINAL	                1	2	3	4	T
UBC Okanagan (2-7)	18	9	17	13	57
UBC (7-0)	        16	31	11	14	72

VANCOUVER, BC — The visiting UBC Okanagan women’s basketball team were unable to defeat their coastal rivals, falling (72-57) against the UBC Thunderbirds in the first of a double header in the War Memorial gym.

With the loss, the Heat now hold a record of (2-7), while the T-Birds are now at (7-0).

For the Heat, Emily Kanester led the way in scoring with 14 points, followed up by Claire Elliott with 13 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Sophomore Jordan Korol finished tonight’s matchup with seven points and five rebounds.

The Thunderbird’s Madison Penn led all scorers in the game, finishing with 18 points. Behind her for the T-Birds were Shilpa Khanna, with 17 points, and Kara Spotton, who finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, giving her a double double.

It was a tight first quarter between the two Canada West foes, with the T-Birds holding on to a narrow lead for the majority of the quarter before the Heat inched ahead 16-15 on a made three-ball by Emily Kanester.

The ‘Birds were the ones to heat up in the second quarter, as Shilpa Khanna opened the scoring with back-to-back threes to reclaim the lead at 22-18. Maddison Penn hit her own bucket from beyond the arc, Ali Norris nailed a three, and Khanna closed out the quarter with her third triple, extending the lead to 39-24.

At the end of the first half the Thunderbird’s Shilpa Khanna led in scoring with 14 points, followed by UBC’s Madison Penn with 11 points.

For the Heat Claire Elliott had six points, followed by Shenelle Tamminen with four points.

UBC headed into the second half up 47-27, and UBCO couldn’t cut into the Thunderbird lead in the final twenty minutes. As the final buzzer sounded, UBC extended its winning ways to seven straight games on the year.

Both teams will return to the War Memorial Gym for their final regular season game before winter break on Saturday night. Tip off is at 5 p.m.

~ With notes from Aneesa Heatherington/UBC Thunderbirds / Tia Sadler / UBC Okanagan