LANGLEY, B.C. – The Spartans women's basketball team fell to the No. 1 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies for the second consecutive night, falling 101-47 Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
Ranked No. 1 in U SPORTS, the Huskies improved to 16-0 overall and 10-0 in conference play, while the Spartans record falls to 3-7 on the season with the loss.
Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) led the charge offensively for TWU with a team high 10 points, while
Teanna Bradshaw (Oshawa, Ont.) collected 11 rebounds for the Spartans.
Summer Masikewich and Megan Ahlstrom each had 19 points for the Huskies, with Masikewich adding a team high 10 rebounds in the winning cause.
Masikewich paced the Huskies offence in the first quarter with 10 points, taking advantage of TWU's seven first quarter turnovers. Spartans guard
Jolene Vlieg (Leduc, Alta.) however knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers to keep TWU within five points at 24-19 after the opening 10 minutes.
The Huskies took over offensively in the second quarter, scoring 16 consecutive points to take a 45-26 lead at halftime. Saskatchewan guard Ahlstrom was perfect from the line (8-8) in the quarter, contributing 11 second points.
The Spartans shooting then went cold in the third quarter, shooting just 20% (3-15) from the field and scoring eight points. Saskatchewan dropped another 24 points, stretching its lead to 69-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter saw much of the same for both teams, with Saskatchewan continuing to roll offensively and the Spartans struggling to score against the conference's top defence. TWU were outscored 32-13 over the final 10 minutes of play, losing 101-47 at home.
Saskatchewan shot 49% (34-70) from the field, while the Spartans score on 25% of their shots (16-63). TWU was also out rebounded by a 56-32 margin.
QUOTABLE
Spartans Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"I think we did a great job of showing that yesterday's game was not who we wanted to be in terms of effort and attitude. The first 15 minutes of that game were exceptional basketball. When you're playing the No. 1 team in the country and you can hold them to three points over a five-minute stretch in the first half, that gives us a lot to work with. The break downs later in the game is when you realize how much effort and focus it takes to compete with a team like that for 40 minutes. I thought we took some big steps forward from yesterday's game. I'm happy with the lack of fear we played with today."
NOTABLE
- TWU has now dropped two straight games after finishing the fall semester with a pair of victories over MacEwan, winning 82-52 and 84-52.
- Prior to the weekend the last time TWU and Saskatchewan matched up came in a Canada West best-of-three semifinal series in 2017-18, when the Huskies won in a series-deciding Game 3.
- TWU's last win against Saskatchewan came Jan. 19, 2018 (69-68) on the road in Saskatoon.
NEXT UP
The Spartans look to get back on track as they travel to UBC to take on the Thunderbirds Friday and Saturday (Jan. 10-11) 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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