VICTORIA – The UBC Thunderbirds are heading back to the Canada West Championship game after withstanding a spirited challenge from the Lethbridge Pronghorns in a 53-31 semifinal victory Thursday, Oct. 22 at Wallace Field.
Lethbridge battled UBC hard. The Pronghorns struck first in both halves, twice drew level in the opening half, and pulled within three points shortly after halftime before UBC's depth and attacking firepower eventually wore down the Pronghorns.
"It was a really tough physical game, but all credit to Lethbridge," said UBC head coach Dean Murten. "They played very, very well and, I'll be honest, we were stretched, we were panicking, we really felt the pressure and, again, we pulled through in the end."
The Pronghorns opened the scoring in the ninth minute when Emily Stewart crossed for the game's first try. UBC responded through Shalaya Valenzuela before Jamie Dickson gave the Thunderbirds their first lead. After Sydney Wollbaum's converted try tied the match at 12-12 midway through the half, tries from Lana Dueck and Teniola Epemolu helped UBC take a 22-12 advantage into the break.
Lethbridge came out flying to start the second half as Stewart scored her second try of the afternoon, cutting the deficit to just 22-19 after the conversion. With momentum swinging toward the Pronghorns, the defending national champions found another gear.
Sierra Hasse sparked the response with a try in the 52nd minute before Sara Tehrani, and Dueck added scores of their own as UBC stretched its lead. While Lethbridge continued to battle through tries from Millie Teskey and Jesse Knaggs, the Thunderbirds kept the scoreboard moving behind a balanced attack and the reliable kicking of Sarah MacPherson, who knocked through three second-half penalty goals.
Saylor Pickrell added a late try to cap an eight-try performance from UBC, which received contributions from seven different try scorers in the victory.
The Thunderbirds now move on to Sunday's Canada West championship game, while the Pronghorns will compete in the bronze medal match. Looking ahead to the short turnaround, Murten acknowledged the physical toll of the semifinal battle.
"We've lost a lot of bodies there. We just got to assess where we're at, and we'll see what happens. But we just got to come out and give it all we got for Sunday."
SCORING SUMMARY
|
1 |
2 |
F |
| UBC |
22 |
31 |
53 |
| LET |
12 |
19 |
31 |
9' LET Try – #1 Emily Stewart, conversion missed, 5-0 LET
14' UBC Try – #12 Shalaya Valenzuela, conversion missed, 5-5 TIE
23' UBC Try – #11 Jamie Dickson, conversion #15 Sarah MacPherson, 12-5 UBC
27' LET Try - #7 Sydney Wollbaum, conversion #10 Lana Dueck, 12-12 TIE
30' UBC Try - #10 Lana Dueck, conversion missed, 17-12 UBC
36' UBC Try - #14 Teniola Epemolu, conversion missed, 22-12 UBC
HALF
44' LET Try - #1 Emily Stewart, conversion #10 Jayda Morrison, 22-19 UBC
52' UBC Try - #8 Sierra Hasse, conversion #15 Sarah MacPherson, 29-19 UBC
56' UBC Try - #9 Sara Tehrani, conversion missed, 34-19 UBC
59' UBC Try - #10 Lana Dueck, conversion missed, 39-19 UBC
63' LET Try - #11 Millie Teskey, conversion #10 Jayda Morrison, 39-26 UBC
65' UBC PG - #15 Sarah MacPherson, 42-26 UBC
71' UBC PG - #15 Sarah MacPherson, 45-26 UBC
74' UBC PG - #15 Sarah MacPherson, 48-26 UBC
78' UBC Try - #25 Saylor Pickrell, conversion missed, 53-26 UBC
80' LET Try - #21 Cadence Slaney, conversion missed, 53-31 UBC
