The UIBC Thunderbirds have gotten into the habit of raiding the nests of their Canada West women’s basketball opponents.
The conference leaders flexed their might Saturday night in Vancouver against the UNBC Timberwolves and walked off with a decisive 97-47 victory to improve to 11-1 this season.
Mona Berlitz led all UBC players with 26 points while adding seven rebounds. Jessica Clarke (16) and Olivia Weekes (12) also hit double-digits on the scoreboard.
For UNBC, second-year star Viktoriia Filatova once again did the heavy lifting offensively as she paced her squad with 18 points. She shot 3-of-6 from deep and finished the night 7-for-12 from the field. Bella Mesquita (9) and Claire Huang (7) also contributed points for the TWolves
UBC went on a 13-4 run to start the game. Mona Berlitz had two field goals while Weekes, Daly, Sara Toneguzzi and Jessica Clarke each had one. The first buckets of the night for the visitors came via Sveta Boykova and Amrit Manak. UNBC chipped away at the deficit and pulled to within 13-10 score thanks to a buzzer-beating jumper from Boykova, and a slick and-one finish from Filatova. The T-birds countered with an 14-4 run of their own on their way to a 27-14 lead through 10.
UBC roared off to a similar 13-4 run to start the second as Clarke potted a pair of buckets. Strong defense and depth persisted and helped power UBC to a 52-18 advantage, before Filatova responded with eight unanswered points by way of back-to-back threes and a mid-range jumper. Mesquita added a triple of her own with 17 seconds left, lifting UNBC to an 11-1 run to end the quarter.
UBC led 53-29 at the half.
Mesquita and Filatova both hit from deep in the third quarter, continuing their strong offensive nights respectively, but the T-birds continued their impressive play by outscoring the TWolves 27-7. Berlitz added nine more to her game-high totals, and also shared a three-way tie for the team lead in rebounding with 7.
Claire Huang recorded UNBC’s first five points in the final 10 in what would end up being a 17-11 fourth-quarter edge for the hosts. Huang, who missed the entire season last year due to a knee injury, finished the night with a new career-high seven points while also leading the team on the glass with five rebounds. Filatova potted four of the six remaining points in the final quarter for UNBC.
The TWolves (3-7) host the Victoria Vikes Thursday (6 p.m.) at Brownridge Court.
