WBB Final Preview: UBC hosts Calgary for Canada West Championship

Article by Brian Swane, special to CW

Feb. 26, 2026 - Between them, the UBC Thunderbirds and Calgary Dinos have made 28 appearances in the Canada West women’s hoops final. And yet, somehow, they had never met with the Valerie Girsberger Trophy on the line.

Until now.

UBC is hosting Calgary for the 2026 Canada West women’s basketball championship final, with tip-off set for 2 p.m. PST on Saturday (Feb. 28) at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver.

Tickets are available for purchase online, and the game will stream on Canada West TV - Powered by BioSteel.

While it’s nearly impossible to believe that the Thunderbirds and Dinos have not previously played each other in the conference final, it might have even been more difficult to predict that this would finally be the year these teams do battle for the conference title.

UBC booked its spot in the Canada West final on Feb. 20 by defeating the Regina Cougars 74-68 in a conference semi-final. The Thunderbirds and Cougars engaged in a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle at War Memorial Gym, which is exactly what was expected from two top-notch teams that finished the regular season within one win of each other. But almost no one expected what happened 24 hours later.

In the other Canada-West semi-final, on Feb. 21 in Saskatoon, Calgary clinched its berth in the final when it shocked the west with a 61-58 victory over the two-time defending champion Saskatchewan Huskies. It was the Huskies’ first loss to a Canada West opponent since November 2024, ending their 42-game win streak in conference regular season and postseason play.

Saskatchewan’s elimination means Canada West will have a new women’s hoops champ in 2026, and both of the finalists have been waiting a long time to get their hands on the trophy again: UBC, which is an eight-time conference champ, hasn’t won the conference title since 2015, while the seven-time champion Dinos are seeking their first Canada West crown in 25 years.

While the two head coaches – UBC’s Dave Taylor and Calgary’s Sarah Besselink – are each in the first year with their respective program, both teams feature veteran-heavy rosters led by fifth-year players who were recently selected as 2025-26 Canada West all-Stars: guard Olivia Weekes (16.8 points per game, 9.1 rebounds per game) and forward Cassie Joli-Coeur (9.1 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game) of the Thunderbirds; and guards Amelie Collin (12.1 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game) and forward Pollyanna Storie (12.1 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game) of the Dinos.

The Dinos and Thunderbirds did not play each other during the regular season. In fact, they haven’t crossed paths since November 2024, when they split a pair of games in Vancouver. But while there aren’t any recent head-to-head results to draw on, all signs suggest the sides are evenly matched: UBC and Calgary both had 16-4 records in 2025-26, and near identical point differentials, +16.8 and +16.4, respectively.

Even home court might not prove much of an advantage. While UBC is near-unbeatable at War Memorial Gym, going 10-1 in the regular season and playoffs, Calgary is now an incredible 10-2 in road and neutral site games over the regular season and playoffs.

Whatever the outcome, this championship final certainly will be one for the history books.