LANGLEY, B.C. – The Spartans women's basketball team opened the winter semester with an 83-39 loss to the undefeated No. 1 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
TWU's record falls to 3-6 on the season, while undefeated Saskatchewan improve to 9-0.
Kianna Wiens (Regina, Sask.) led the Spartans with 11 points, which included a trio of 3-pointers.
Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) and
Jolene Vlieg (Leduc, Alta.) both had a team high seven rebounds.
Huskies leading scorer Summer Masikewich carried Saskatchewan on offence, scoring a game-high 29 points to go with 8 rebounds.
The Huskies top ranked offense opened the first quarter on a 17-2 run, closing out the first 10 minutes up 26-11 over TWU. Masikewich led the way for Saskatchewan with 12 points and four rebounds in the quarter.
A pair of second quarter 3-pointers from Spartans guard Wiens helped TWU keep pace in the second, as the Huskies hit just 18% (4-22) from the field in the quarter. Saskatchewan led 37-21 at the half.
The Huskies opened the second half with a dominant offensive display, scoring 19 consecutive points to open and outscoring TWU by a 29-6 margin in the frame.
The Huskies dominance on both sides of the court carried into the fourth quarter, closing out the fourth quarter on a 17-12 run to maintain its perfect record.
Saskatchewan shot 44% (33-75) from the field, while TWU shot 22% (13-59).
QUOTABLE
Spartans Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"These are games where you can't play the score. You're playing a very good team. They're the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. But that's not what we're focusing on. We're focusing on what it takes to become that type of team. The effort and the decision making that we need weren't there consistently. There were glimpses of really good things and we want to focus on those and grow those, but the reality is we need to bring a stronger desire and effort to be a competitive basketball team.
"To me, it's really about a change of approach and coming in with a different attitude. The score always starts at 0-0, so our goal is to start tomorrow's game with that mindset and make them earn it, instead of letting them take it from us."
NOTABLE
- The Huskies, who are ranked No. 1 in U SPORTS, improving their perfect record to 15-0 overall and 9-0 in conference play.
- In eight conference games coming into Fridays tilt, Saskatchewan was winning by an average margin of 42.8 points (84.4 to 41.6).
- TWU finished the fall semester with a pair of victories over MacEwan, winning 82-52 and 84-52.
- The last time TWU played Saskatchewan was in a Canada West best-of-three semifinal series in 2017-18 when the Huskies won in a series-deciding Game 3.
NEXT UP
The Spartans once again take on Saskatchewan Saturday (5 p.m. PT) at the Langley Events Centre.
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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