Friday night in Kelowna the UNBC Timberwolves women’s basketball team (2-5) dropped an 82-55 decision to the UBC Okanagan Heat (3-4). Jaeli Ibbetson led the charge with 18 points and 20 rebounds for the hosts while Sveta Boykova led all scorers with 22 points in response for UNBC. Rebecca Landry chimed in with 18 points for the short-staffed TWolves while three additional Heat players: Lauren Foullong (13), Rachel Hettinga (15) and Kelsey Falk (14) all finished in double-digits offensively.
Sergey Shchepotkin’s club came out of the gate strong as Rebecca Landry and Sveta Boykova converted on UNBC’s first two offensive looks of the game. Boykova would make good on two more jumpers later in the first to lead all TWolves with six points. Lauren Foullong responded with seven points for UBCO who held a slim 18-14 edge after one.
The hosts poured it on a bit more in the second, outscoring UNBC 20-10. UNBC shot 3/13 of the field, and six of those misses were swallowed up by Ibbetson who bagged nine first-half rebounds. Foullong added six more points to her team-leading total, and went into the halftime tunnel leading all scorers with 13 points (5/10 FG, 3/7 3PT). Rebecca Landry and Sveta Boykova added four points apiece to their totals for the TWolves who trailed 38-24 at half.
Rebecca Landry did her part to try and spark a UNBC rally in the third by posting a quarter-best eight points on 3/5 shooting. Landry did it the hard way for much of the night as eight of her eventual 18 points came from the free-throw line. At the other end Jaeli Ibbetson continued her two-way dominance as she grabbed six rebounds to accompany her six points. Through three quarters, the fourth-year forward had 15 rebounds and 16 points.
With UNBC down by 17 after three, Sveta Boykova (as usual) refused to let her team fade quietly into the night. Nine of her game-high 22 came in the final quarter. Her 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists guided her to Friday’s Earls Road Warrior Player of the Game Honours for UNBC. Offensively Kelsey Falk responded with eight for UBCO, and as Jaeli Ibbetson grabbed five more rebounds, the chatter intensified as to whether she might enter triple double territory. Unfortunately for her, she’d finish three assists shy of that mark, but her team was able to celebrate an 82-55 victory.
Saturday at 6 p.m. PT, the TWolves and Heat will clash once again marking the final test for both teams ahead of the exam/holiday break.