VANCOUVER. – The Spartans women's basketball team fell to its cross-town rival UBC Thunderbirds 95-58 on the road Friday at the War Memorial Gymnasium. 
 
The defeat is the TWU's third in a row (3-8), while the Thunderbirds (9-4) earned their seventh win over their last eight outings.
 
Setting the pace for TWU was Kianna Wiens (Regina, Sask.) with 19 points, while Jayden Gill (Abbotsford) and Julia Marshall (Langley) added 12 points each.
 
Jessica Hanson scored a game high 24 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists for UBC while Keylyn Filewich added 21 points and seven rebounds. Hailey Counsel chipped in with 11 points. 
  
The Spartans fell down 11-3 early and trailing 21-11 at the conclusion of the first quarter. Wiens was relied upon to offer much of the offensive response from TWU, scoring eight of the first nine points for the visitors. Hanson and Filewich shared a team high six points each for the Thunderbirds.
 
UBC increased the gap through the second frame thanks to Hanson adding another five points while Filewich and Kate Johnson chipped in with four each in outscoring TWU 20-15 to claim a 42-26 halftime lead. Wiens continued to deliver for TWU scoring another quarter high eight points while teammate Marshall added a three-pointer.
 
The third quarter was highlighted by the hosts long range shooting, including Hanson who hit all three of her three-point attempts to give UBC a 65-36 advantage midway through the third. Laguerta also added her second three-pointer of the night for UBC while Jolene Vieg (Leduc, Alta.), Lana Shypit (Winnipeg) and Marshall would all respond from downtown for TWU who trailed 72-42 after three quarters. Hanson enjoyed a quarter high 13 points for the T-Birds who saw their already efficient field goal shooting improve to 55 percent.
 
The Spartans were then outscored 23-16 the rest of the way to fall 95-58.
 
NOTABLE

• TWU was coming off a pair of losses to No. 1 ranked Saskatchewan at home, while UBC split a pair of road games on the road against UFV last weekend.
• Spartans forward Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) did not play in the game. She leads the Spartans offence, averaging 16.3 points per-game and 9.2 rebounds per-game.
• TWU has now won just once over its last 19 games against the Thunderbirds, including losing both its games at home against UBC last season (Jan. 11-12, 2019). 

NEXT UP
The Spartans once again take on the Thunderbirds Saturday (5 p.m. PT) at the War Memorial Gymnasium. 

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.
 
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