Brownridge Court was rocking once again Saturday night as the UNBC Timberwolves grabbed their third straight victory at home to start the season. Sveta Boykova supplied her second straight double-double (20 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists) while Viktoriia Filatova chimed in with 18 points – including the game-winning layup that came with 14 seconds remaining in the matchup. UBCO countered with an 18-point performance from Lily Pink. Pink added 12 rebounds to round out her double-double.
A 12-2 run to start the game for UBCO as Foullong drained a three while Tsuki Tsuzuki, Kiana Kaczur, Kelsey Falk and Lily Pink added twos. Sophia Fuller nabbed the first bucket of the night for UNBC off a layup. The other six points in the quarter for UNBC came from Filatova who came in off the bench and shot two-for-two from the field and hit both of her free-throws. The first-quarter scoring leader for UBCO was Falk who finished with five, and after leading 22-8 a night ago after one, UBCO held a 20-8 edge through the opening 10 minutes.
Things were far more even in the second quarter as both teams registered 19 points. After being blanked in the first quarter, Sveta Boykova stepped up in a big way for the Green and Gold, supplying seven second quarter points, while Filatova added five. Filatova and Adaiah Tupas-Singh both drilled triples in the second. On the other side, Abby Smith came off the bench for UBCO and supplied five points while Pink supplied four.
At half UBCO led 39-27 with Foullong and Pink each with six. Punk’s five rebounds were a team high for UBCO. For UNBC Filatova led with 11 points, Boykova had a game-high six rebounds and Tupas-Singh had earned three assists.
More of the same in the third quarter as both teams recorded 18 points apiece. The main drivers for UNBC were once again Filatova and Boykova, both of whom notched five points. Amrit Manak and Brynn Dergousoff each added field goals while Claire Huang and Sophia Fuller converted on a pair of free-throws. For UBCO, Lily Pink notched half of her team’s third quarter points by going four-for-four from the field. 30 mintues through and the Heat continued to lead by 12.
The fourth quarter was a much different story for Sergey Shchepotkin’s crew. On the strength of four buckets from Boykova, a three from Manak and some timely buckets from Halle Tiessen, the TWolves chipped away at UBCO’s lead. A layup from Dergousoff with 1:59 remaining tied the score at 64-64. Kiana Kaczur and Sveta Boykova swapped layups for their respective teams, leaving the game tied 66-66 with a minute remaining.
After forcing a UBCO turnover on the defensive side of the ball, the TWolves got possession back with under 30 seconds to go. That set the stage for Filatova to slice through traffic down the right side of the key and convert what would eventually be the game-winning bucket.
Pink did earn a trip to the free-throw line for UBCO, but only connected on one of her two chances. The Heat did get one final look, but came up empty on their buzzer-beating effort from deep, giving UNBC their second victory in as many days against UBCO.
Thanks to her game-winning bucket, all part of an 18-point night, Filatova captured the Mr. Mike’s Player of the Game award for UNBC. Her great night was further complimented by Sveta Boykova’s second straight double-double effort of 20 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists.
The TWolves now improve to 3-5 and will head into their bye week and holiday break feeling great about their game.