The UBC Thunderbirds defeated the Manitoba Bisons in their U Sports home debut – earning their third straight win by at least 20 points or more. A Maddison Penn three-ball set the tone for the T-Birds less than a minute in, for a UBC 80-47 victory over the Bisons on Friday, November 18.

With a 22-point lead heading into halftime, the Thunderbirds held Manitoba to just 20 points in 20 minutes and 32 percent from the field. 

UBC's high tempo offence and stingy defence proved to be too much for the Bisons to handle in the second half, and Thunderbirds Head Coach Deb Huband took the opportunity to showcase the talented T-Bird rookies to the home crowd. 

Penn came off the bench in the fourth quarter and made her presence known, spinning off her check with ease and nailing a Tim Duncan-esque bank shot off the glass. The flashy 6'1 guard finished with a team-high 19 points. 

The 'Birds outduelled the Bisons down low, with 15 second chance points to go along with 6 blocks. Manitoba outscored the home side 17-15 in the third to narrow the halftime lead.

Veteran Kara Spotton led the way for UBC with 3 blocks to go along with 7 rebounds and 15 points. Rookie Ali Norris added 6 points, 2 boards and a steal in 19 minutes of action.

For Manitoba, captain Rebecca Potter had a double-double with a team-high 12 points and 10 rebounds while Brittanie Parisien added 11 points.

UBC host game two on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. CT at War Memorial Gym.