BRANDON, Manitoba – A career night from Jolene Vlieg (Leduc, Alta.) pushed the Spartans to a 66-58 road win over the Brandon Bobcats Friday at the Healthy Living Centre.
 
Vleig finished with a game-high 26 points, 19 of which came in the first half, to go with 12 rebounds.
 
With its first win of the new year, the Spartans record improved to 4-13 on the season. The Bobcats record falls to 1-16 on the year.

Vleig's double-double performance was one of two for the Spartans as Lana Shypit (Winnipeg) also had a double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) finished with 19 points and nine boards.

Both teams shot the ball well in the opening quarter as the two sides combined to hit nine in the quarter before Brandon's Adrianna Proulx hit a buzzer-beater to send the game to the second tied 23-23.
 
Brandon went cold from downtown in the second, going 0-for-3 while Trinity went 2-for-6 to take a lead at the break.
 
The Bobcats' offence went cold again in the middle of the game going nearly 10 minutes without a basket before Trinity extended the lead to 20 mid-way through the third. 
 
In the fourth Brandon turned on the full court press and went on a 17-0 run highlighted by three turnovers by Misskey, but it wasn't enough in the end, as the Spartans held on for the 66-58 victory.
 
QUOTABLE
Cheryl Jean-Paul – TWU Head Coach
 
"Tonight's game was a different kind of battle from the last few weekends. Playing with a lead and finishing with a lead are also very tough lessons to learn and I'm glad we were able to find a way. Jolene stepped up in a big way and it was nice to be able to celebrate another one of our younger athletes having a highlight evening. Looking forward to another tough one tomorrow."
 
NOTABLE

• Vliegs previous high for points this season sat at 14, set Jan. 18 at Fraser Valley.
• TWU went 21-55 (38%) in field goals, while the Bobcats hit 30% (18-61) of their shots.
• Spartans forward Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) has now recorded nine or more rebounds in five straight games.

 
NEXT UP
The Spartans will look to make it two in a row Saturday, as they take on Brandon in a rematch.
 
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-