Saturday night at the Northern Sport Centre the UNBC Timberwolves (2-8) women’s basketball club dropped an 81-48 decision to the visiting Lethbridge Pronghorns (9-3). Vlada Hozalova led all Pronghorns with 15 points – 12 of which came as a result of four successful threes. Courtney McKee (11), Piper Dobbelsteyn (12), Kyra Coller (11) and Abby Graves (13) also finished with double-digit points for Lethbridge who have now won eight straight. Sveta Boykova led UNBC with 18 points and 15 rebounds while Adaiah Tupas-Singh chimed in with an impressive 11 points and six boards.
Sergey Schepotkin’s club jumped out to a 16-14 lead after 10 minutes. Second-year guard Adaiah Tupas-Singh provided an immediate spark for the TWolves by hitting her first three shots of the night, including two from beyond the arc. She finished the opening period with eight points along with two rebounds and an assist. The TWolves got a big boost on the defensive end from Sveta Boykova who returned to the lineup from a one-game suspension and supplied six first quarter rebounds to go with four points. Piper Dobbelsteyn led the response for Lethbridge with five points while Kyra Collier pulled down five rebounds.
Tupas-Singh continued her hot start by drilling her third three of the night in the opening minute, putting the TWolves ahead 21-16. A few possessions later, Sveta Boykova drilled an elbow three to make it 24-16. Just 14 minutes into the game had already managed nine points and nine rebounds. Vlada Hozalova knocked down a three to tie the score at 27-27. A few trips later, Hozalova gave the Pronghorns a two-point lead with another triple. After going oh-for-three in the first quarter, Hozlova went three-for-four in the second, and had eight points at the half, second only to Dobbelsteyn on the visitor’s side. With less than a minute left in the quarter, Sveta Boykova hit her seventh field-goal of the night, and halfway through she led all scorers with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The final points of the quarter came from Jenessa Doctor who converted on a buzzer-beating layup, ensuring that her squad went into the tunnel up 38-33.
Lethbridge outscored UNBC 22-5 in the third quarter and started off on a 14-0 run. Courtney McKee, Vlada Hozalova and Jenessa Doctor all knocked down threes while defensively they forced the TWolves to miss their first 12 field goal attempts. Viktoriia Filatova ended the drought for UNBC with a corner three, and Hanna Busic added a late bucket down low, in traffic to round out the scoring for the hosts.
The final quarter saw Lethbridge outscore UNBC by a 21-10 margin. Danielle Nadeau led all Pronghorns with seven fourth quarter points while five others found the scoresheet. Three of the six Lethbridge fourth quarter field goals came from three. Five of the 10 UNBC points in the final quarter came from rookie Viktoriia Filatova while Adaiah Tupas Singh provided a rebound and two steals in the fourth. Tupas-Singh, the second-year guard finished the night with a new career-high of 11 points along with six rebounds. Her performance earned her Mr. Mike’s Player of the Game honours.
Up next for the TWolves, a trip east to the Prairies to battle the Regina Cougars next weekend. Tip off goes Friday at 4:00 p.m. PT.