LANGLEY, British Columbia – For the second night in a row, the Trinity Western women's basketball team earned a preseason victory, as the Spartans beat visiting UBC Okanagan 72-67 Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.

The Spartans built a nine-point lead, 62-53, with 5:10 to play in the fourth quarter but had to fight to the very end to pick up the victory.

UBCO went on an 11-2 run to even the score 64-64 with three minutes to play, but TWU responded with six straight points to take the lead for good. The Heat got to within four points, 71-67, late in the frame, but a Kayla Gordon (Prince George, B.C.) free throw sealed the win.

"To be able to win two games back-to-back against two different teams is not something that we are taking for granted, knowing that every close game is a great opportunity for us to work on decision-making, execution and shot selection when it matters," said Spartans coach Cheryl Jean-Paul. "We want to put ourselves in a position to win close games this year and tonight was another example of doing a few things right at the end of the game to stay on top.

"We definitely have some defensive work to do and spacing to correct on offense, and need to gain confidence in our identity on the floor as a group, but overall we are encouraged by our continued improvement."

The Spartans return to the court Oct. 23 when they will host Ryerson at the LEC at 7 p.m.

-TW-