'Birds bounce back with empathic victory

CALGARY – The reigning Canada West Champion UBC Thunderbirds turned in a convincing 94-7 win over the Calgary Dinos Saturday afternoon at Calgary Rugby Union.

After the Dinos kept things close in the first half, UBC responded with 10 second-half tries en route to the lopsided result.



The T-Birds opened the scoring just two minutes in with a try from Abigail Stanley. Only four minutes later, they extended the advantage as Piper Logan found the end zone, capitalizing on a powerful phase play that set the tone for the rest of the first half.

Despite the growing gap, the Dinos showed fight by contesting lineouts and forcing several turnovers. However, the Dinos were unable to translate that effort into points as UBC's pressure continued to mount. The Thunderbirds pulled away to a 26-0 lead at half.



The second half brought more of the same. UBC's cohesion and pace overwhelmed the hosts and the T-Birds surged ahead to a 66-0 advantage by the 63rd minute after the second of four tries from Adia Pye on the day.

Calgary finally broke through when Larae Benoit found the end zone. Allysen Stachiw added the conversion to cut the deficit to 66-7, but UBC continued to pile on with four more scores in response to close out the decisive road win.

The Dinos now turn their focus to a road matchup against the Lethbridge Pronghorns next Saturday night. Meanwhile, UBC will return home to face Alberta Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. (PT) at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre



SCORING SUMMARY
                1     2      F
UBC        26   68    94
CGY        0      7     7        

First Half
2' UBC - Abigail Stanley try (Brooke Roddham convert) - 7-0 UBC
7' UBC - Piper Logan try (Brooke Roddham convert) - 14-0 UBC
15' UBC - Tia Jordo try (convert unsuccessful) - 19-0 UBC
19' UBC - Adia Pye try (Brooke Roddham convert) - 26-0 UBC

Second Half
45' UBC - Abigail Stanley try (Brooke Roddham convert) - 33-0 UBC
49' UBC - Kiki Idowu try (Brooke Roddham convert) - 40-0 UBC
52' UBC - Tia Jordo try (convert unsuccessful) - 45-0 UBC
55' UBC - Charity Williams try (Brooke Roddham convert) - 52-0 UBC
59' UBC - Ayana Titifanua try (Olivia Sarabura convert) - 59-0 UBC
62' UBC - Adia Pye try (Olivia Sarabura convert) - 66-0 UBC
64' CGY - Larae Benoit try (Allysen Stachiw convert) - 66-7 UBC
66' UBC - Skye Farish try (Olivia Sarabura convert) - 73-7 UBC
72' UBC - Adia Pye try (Olivia Sarabura convert) - 80-7 UBC
75' UBC - Adia Pye try (Olivia Sarabura convert) - 87-7 UBC
79' UBC - Dylan Kipp try (Olivia Sarabura convert) - 94-7 UBC