It was close but the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves lost the dream of a 2012 CCAA women's basketball championship.
The T-wolves fell 74-62 in the only upset of the tournament as the sixth-seed Algonquin College Thunder will move on to the semifinal today, relegating the third-seed UNBC to fight for the bronze medal in Lethbridge.
Abeer Farhat, a first-year guard for the Thunder, proved a force the T-wolves couldn't stop as she had 23 points and seven assists, while UNBC was led by fourth-year guard Kady Dandeneu with 12 points.
The T-wolves entered the final quarter down by six points but clawed back to tie the game at 61-61 on a pair of free throws by Jennifer Bruce after UNBC All-Canadian Jen Clyne pulled the Prince George team to 61-59 after hitting a three-point shot. But the Thunder were able to pull away again and UNBC didn't have another comeback in them.
In the final minute, Bruce had a chance to get the T-wolves closer when she lined up at for a trio of free throws with the score 70-61 but she went 0-for-3. Afterwards the Thunder just ran out the clock.
The T-wolves dream of a repeat of 2008 - when they won the national championship - is over, but they still have a shot at a bronze medal.
It was a tight first half with neither the T-wolves or Thunder willing to make a mistake that their opponent could capitalize on. UNBC trailed 18-17 after the first quarter and fought hard to keep it close in the second quarter before fifth-year T-wolf Erin Beckett gave her team a 35-34 advantage heading into the break.
The Thunder came out strong in the second half out scoring UNBC 13-2 in the early going to retake the lead at 47-37 - the largest lead either team had all night. Dandeneau helped the T-wolves get back into the game, scoring four successive points. Jennifer Knibbs downed a three-point shot late in the third quarter and the T-wolves went into the final 10 minutes down 52-46.
There were no surprises in the first three games as the top-seed Grant MacEwan University Griffins defeated the Seneca Sting 87-65. The Griffins will play the fourth-seed, College de Ste. Foy Dynamiques in the 5 p.m. semifinal. The Dynamiques knocked off the St. Thomas University Tommies 69-51.
The second-seed Dawson College Blues beat the host Lethbridge College Kodiaks 84-64. The Blues and Thunder will meet in the semifinal at 7 p.m., while the T-wolves face the Kodiaks at 2 p.m.
