Files from U of A Sports Information

EDMONTON - For three quarters, the No.8 ranked University of Alberta Pandas looked in control of the first game of their opening-round playoff match-up against the No. 10 UBC Thunderbirds. But, after almost giving away the game in the fourth quarter, they needed overtime to put down the T-Birds, 74-66, Friday night in the U of A's Main Gym.

Alberta squandered an 11-point lead with 6:46 to go, but Marisa Haylett, who scored 14 points for the Pandas, poked the ball away on the Thunderbirds’ final possession to force overtime as Alberta took a 1–0 lead in the three-game playoff series with the win.

The Pandas were up 11 with 6:46 left, but the Thunderbirds turned it on, going on a 15–4 run that lasted the rest of the quarter to tie the game at 60 with 41.6 seconds left. With the Pandas looking to retake the lead with 20 seconds left, Alex Vieweg stole the ball on an errant pass to give UBC a last-shot opportunity. However, Haylett came up big for the Pandas, stripping the ball and forcing a jump ball with 1.6 seconds left. After a traveling violation on UBC’s attempted inbound, Emily Bolduc got an open look for three from the wing for Alberta, but was just long, sending the game to OT.

“We started our play a little bit too early, then people got a little confused and we didn’t get what we were looking for,” explained UBC head coach Deb Huband about the T-Birds final effort in regulation time.

The Pandas made quick work in the overtime period as Anneka Bakker (2nd, Ottawa, ON) scored six of her team-high 15 and Bolduc iced it with a big three-pointer while the Thunderbirds struggled to generate offence, turning the ball over three times.

“Our offence let us down in overtime,” added Huband.

Early on, Alberta built a quick lead off superior inside play, getting to the painting and finding success on entry passes and offensive rebounds as they finished the first quarter with a plus-eight rebounding margin and an 18–13 lead that they would build on over the next three quarters. However, the Panadas didn’t press the inside game as often as Alberta head coach Scott Edwards would have liked, especially considering their ability to grab offensive rebounds—they had 19—and draw fouls.

“I was really frustrated with shot selection tonight from the perimeter. I thought we were doing a nice job getting the ball inside and we were doing a good job against the shot blockers, and we started settling for three-point shots, which is uncharacteristic of our team and maybe just a little bit of those playoff nerves with a young group,” he explained.

Devan Lisson had 17 points on 7–11 shooting in a losing cause for UBC, while Vieweg chipped in 13 points and six rebounds.

Game two goes tomorrow night at 7:00 pm MST in the Main Gym.  The winner of the series moves on to the Canada West Final Four, and a shot at earning a berth to the CIS national championship.

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