LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western's women's basketball team opens the 2019-20 season this weekend with a revamped roster that is set to take the program in an exciting new direction, starting Friday on the road against Thompson Rivers.

With the graduation of TWU's top three scorers from last year, including Tessa Ratzlaff, Sarah Buckingham and Jessie Brown, a fresh foundation has been laid, with coach Chery Jean-Paul ready to lead a new wave of Spartans set to build upon the program's recent success. 

Every Spartans women's basketball game will be available live and on demand this season on Canada West TV – the official streaming home of the conference. Passes are now on sale.

COACH CHERYL JEAN-PAUL
"I think we're going to see all the highs and lows of being youthful. There are going to be flashes of what this group can consistently become in the next couple years, but it's going to take some time and experience to get there. I've seen us grow and develop on a weekly basis this year. The group is very keen and very hard working and they're really trying to understand what our style of play is going to look like. We obviously lost some substantial pieces, but instead of trying to piecemeal it back together, we decided to reinvent who we're going to be on the court over the next four or five years with this group." 

GUARDS
Led by Kiana Wiens (Regina), the Spartans have an up-and-coming backcourt that has the potential to provide dynamic play at both ends of the court. The third-year Wiens takes on a larger role this year after averaging 8.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 2018-19. In TWU's final two preseason games, Wiens averaged a team-leading 18.0 points per game and she'll play a central role in TWU's success this year. 

With the graduation of standout guards Brown and Buckingham, who combined to average 26.5 points per game last year, TWU will look to variety of options to fill the voids, including the likes of second-year Jolene Vleig (Leduc, Alta.), first-years Jayden Gill (Abbotsford, B.C.) and Lana Shypit (Winnipeg), third-year Jenna Van Delft (Prince George, B.C.) and fourth-year Julia Marshall (Langley). 

FORWARDS
Up front, the Spartans will look to last year's Canada West Rookie of the Year Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) to once again dominate both in the paint and with her medium-range jumper. In her rookie season, she averaged 11.6 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game, making her TWU's highest scoring and rebounding returnee from last year's roster. 

With last year's TWU scoring and rebounding leader Tessa Ratzlaff (Abbotsford, B.C.) graduated and now playing professionally in Germany, the likes of second-years Nicola Peters (Abbotsford) and Simran Grewal (Surrey, B.C.), fourth-year Teanna Bradshaw (Oshawa, Ont.) and fifth-year Breanna Cabuco (Port Moody, B.C.) to help solidify the Spartans forward unit. With Peters and Cabuco opening the season on the shelf with injures, Bradshaw and Grewal will help TWU take the first steps towards rebuilding a new-look front court.  

BY THE NUMBERS
2018-19 CW regular season record: 12-8, 6th (tied)  
2018-19 CW post-season record: 0-1, 9th (tied)
Head coach: Cheryl Jean-Paul (10th season) / 75-111 (Career CW Reg. Season Record)

Last CW championship / total CW championships: None
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: None 

2018-19 CW regular season ranks:
Offence: 68.2 PPG, 10th 
Defence: 66.8 PPG, 5th 

2018-19 CW regular season leaders:
Points per game: 16.8 – Tessa Ratzlaff, F
Assists per game: 3.9 – Sarah Buckingham, G
Rebounds per game: 7.8 – Tessa Ratzlaff, F
Blocks per game: 0.9 – Tessa Ratzlaff, F

Key additions (name / position / eligibility / hometown / last team): 
Jayden Gill / G / 1st / Abbotsford, BC / Robert Bateman 
Lana Shypit / G / 1st / Winnipeg, MB / Glenlawn

Key losses (name / position / hometown / years with program): 
Jessie Brown / G / Langley, BC / 5
Tessa Ratzlaff / F / Abbotsford, BC / 5
Sarah Buckingham / G / Langley, BC / 4

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) in men's hockey and as an independent team in men's rugby. The men's and women's hockey programs will begin playing in Canada West and U SPORTS in 2020-21. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 27 Canada West team championships and two BCIHL championships.

-TW-