The No. 2-ranked University of British Columbia Thunderbirds scored the first 10 points of the game and never looked back, cruising to a 77-48 win over No. 10 Regina on Friday night in Canada West women's basketball action at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
 
Adrienne Parkin scored UBC's first eight points of the game and finished with a game-high 21 on 9-of-11 shooting for the Thunderbirds, who improve to 14-3 with the win. Stephanie Bell and Kris Young added 10 points apiece for UBC, while Young also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double.
 
Jennilea Coppola had 11 points and 10 rebounds to register a double-double and lead the Cougars (12-5) in both categories.
 
After Parkin's personal 8-0 run to start the game, Harleen Sidhu finished off a fast break off a turnover to give UBC a 10-0 lead just over three minutes into the second. The Cougars cut the lead down to seven after buckets by Coppola on back-to-back possessions later in the first, but that was as close as they would get.
 
UBC opened the second quarter on a 14-4 run to push the lead to 19 and the Thunderbirds held on to a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game. The visitors led by 20 at halftime, by 31 after three quarters, and by as many as 37 late in the fourth.
 
UBC shot 49% from the field in the win and was 8-for-13 (62%) from three-point range. Both Parkin and Cassandra Knievel were 3-for-4 from beyond the arc for the Thunderbirds, while Young was 2-for-2.
 
The Cougars were held to just 29% from the field and were just 1-for-18 from three-point range – and their one triple didn't come until with less than 30 seconds remaining, when Taylor Pelletier hit one to cut UBC's final margin of victory to 29.
 
These two teams will meet again on Saturday night at the CKHS (6:00, canadawest.tv).