EDMONTON – The Trinity Western Spartans dropped their second of two 81-46 to the Alberta Pandas Saturday night at the Saville Centre at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. The win moves the Pandas to 16-1, while the loss drops the Spartans to 4-12. 

"Understanding the importance of the little things continues to cause us to battle ourselves almost more than our opponent. Our second quarter was one of the best defensive showings we've had this season but because we haven't been able to rely on our defence to create consistent offensive looks, we didn't know what to do with it and couldn't capitalize on those opportunities," commented TWU head coach Cheryl Jean-Paul. "We did a much better job on the boards and created turnovers off defensive pressure which were two areas that we wanted to improve on from yesterday, but battling a team like Alberta is physically exhausting and we just couldn't get our legs under our shots." 

Kristin Ford (Okotoks, Alta.) with 12 points and three rebounds, Natalie Carkner (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) with nine points and three steals, and Jessie Brown (Langley, B.C.) with eight points and three steals led the Spartans. On the Alberta side Maddie Rogers with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and Jessilyn Fairbanks with 16 points led the Pandas. 

The Pandas used a strong first quarter to take a 25-11 lead after 10 minutes. The second quarter was a defensive battle as the two teams matched each other with 13 points to make the score at the half 38-24 for Alberta. 

Alberta continued to extend their lead in the third quarter, 61-40, before closing out the game with a 20-6 run in the final 10 minutes to make the final 81-46 for the Pandas. 

The Spartans will now return home for their final home games of the season when they will host the University of Manitoba. Game times at the Langley Events Centre on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13 are set for 6 p.m. and 5 p.m. PST. 

Game Notes: The Spartans finished the night shooting 23.4 percent, 15-64, while the Pandas finished at 54.7 percent, 29-53…Alberta had the edge in rebounding 43-33 and assists 24-7… 

-TW-