PACWEST

Sarah Robin is a second year player from Prince Rupert, BC.  She has shown constant improvement all season long and last weekend had the best performance of her career to date.  Her hard work and positive attitude have paid off.  On Friday night, this 5'9 wing player had 12 points, shooting 5/7 from the floor and 2/2 from the foul line, in just 13 minutes of play in UNBC’s 66-41 win over Langara.  To secure 1st place in PACWEST, UNBC faced a must win game on Saturday night vs Kwantlen.  Robin stepped up to the challenge with 27 points, shooting 11/15 from the floor and 5/8 from the foul line, in just 21 minutes of play.  Her athleticism was tough to match both nights and the spark she provided motivated her teammates.

Charles Barton was outstanding for the UNBC in their final weekend of league play in the PACWEST.  On Friday on the road against a very tough Langara squad, Barton was instrumental in cementing a double overtime win scoring 21 points on 10/13 shooting from the field and secured 6 rebounds in the contest.  The highlights of his evening were a vicious dunk in traffic to spark a late UNBC run in the 4th quarter and a fade-away jumpshot at the end of the second overtime to secure the victory.  Barton was also able to continue his outstanding play on Saturday in a 20 point win against the Kwantlen Eagles, collecting 19 points on 9/12 shooting to go alongside 10 rebounds and 2 assists.

Jose Araujo had a great weekend in helping the Timberwolves move to 8-2 and take sole possesion of 2nd place in the league standings. UNBC made the long trip down to the lower mainland to take on the Royals and Bearcats. On Friday night Araujo was the key to the Timberwolves' offensive attack against Douglas College. He exploded for 29 points in the game, 23 of them coming in a second half in which UNBC outscored their opponents 45-18.  Araujo shot 9/18 from the 3 point line in the game and also contributed 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Saturday night against CBC, Araujo was also effective contributing 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in a 104-77 victory.  

Jennifer Clyne is a 5’11”, 5th year forward from Prince George.  She is a local athlete who will be graduating with a Business Degree this spring and is the captain of this years’ squad.  Clyne missed the last 2 league games in 2011 due to medical reasons, and UNBC is very excited to have her back on the court for 2012.

On Friday night vs Kwantlen Clyne had 20 points shooting 4/5 from the 3-point line, 4/4 from the foul line in 20 minutes of playing time in a UNBC in a 92-43 victory over the visiting Kwantlen University team.

Saturday vs Langara, Clyne tallied 10 points shooting 2/3 from the 3-point line and 2/2 from the foul line and added 6 rebounds to her stat line in a 90-59 victory over the Falcons.

“Jen has been a consistent threat offensively all year and we are happy that she is back, healthy and ready to help her team down the stretch”, stated coach Murdoch.

In their last home stand prior to the Christmas break, UNBC hosted both Vancouver Island University and Camosun College. Third year guard Mercedes VanKoughnett had a great weekend.

On Friday night she had a very complete stat line with 9 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 steals in a 60-52 win over previously undefeated VIU.  She was instrumental in leading her team down the stretch especially when VIU made their final run of the game.

Saturday in a hard fought win against Camosun, VanKoughnett had 16 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals.  The Timberwolves would not have been able to pull off the win if it was not for her taking control of both ends of the court. She demonstrated amazing leadership over the final quarter keeping the Timberwolves organized and helping the team to a huge weekend sweep.

The Timberwolves now enter the semester break with a league leading 6-0 record.

The last weekend of the BCCAA regular season also marked the final home games at UNBC for 5th year senior Matt Mills.  It was a fitting end to Mills’ regular season career as CBC was in the building.  Mills played his first two years at CBC under the guidance of current head coach Mike McLaverty and it was fitting that he was in the gym for his farewell.  On Friday, Mills went 5/8 from the 3 point line and 7/12 from the field in collecting 22 points in just over 19 minutes of playing time.  He also grabbed 5 rebounds on the night.

Saturday was senior night and approximately 1000 loyal UNBC supporters and Matt’s family were on hand to bid him farewell. After a pre-game presentation in his honor, Mills came out on fire looking to give the local fans one final show.  He made four 3’s in the first 6 minutes of the game to spark an early UNBC lead and the team never looked back.   Mills went 8/14 from the field and 6/11 from the three in collecting 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in his final contest at the Northern Sports Centre.  He left the court in the final two minutes to a standing ovation from the Timberwolves’ faithful. 

“Matt was spectacular this weekend,” commented head coach Todd Jordan.  “It was bitter-sweet for everyone to see him play his final two games in our gym.  He has been a model of consistency shooting the ball over his time in the league and this year is no different as he’s shooting 46% from the three.  His contribution to our program as part of our first ever national championship team last season will never be forgotten.  Matt is an extremely hard-worker and high character person.  It has been a pleasure to coach him.” 

Inderbir Gill entered the stretch drive of the BCCAA basketball season knowing the importance of the game against the UBC Okanagan Heat.  After dropping their first contest against the heat in November, the senior leader was determined to lead his team to victory this past weekend on the road.  Gill played a strong defensive game from start to finish and totaled 26 points in his 31 minutes of playing time.  Many of his baskets were of a timely fashion in holding off a second half charge by the Heat and he was regularly able to get into the paint and get to the foul line where he made 9 of 10 free throw attempts.  The victory clinched second place in the league standings and a first round bye in playoffs. 

UNBC Head Coach Todd Jordan was happy but not surprised by Gill’s performance.  “Inderbir once again showed why he has been a back to back All-Canadian in the CCAA.  He put together another big time performance in a game that had a playoff atmosphere.  Time and time again he has proven that he is capable of raising his game to lead our team in pressure situations.  This was a huge win in helping to prepare us for the upcoming provincial championships.”