LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western's women's basketball finished the 2019-20 season on a high, beating Victoria 68-64 on the Spartans Senior Athlete Appreciation Night Saturday at the Langley Events Centre. 

The Spartans trailed by as much as 12 points before rallying in the fourth quarter to cap the season with a win. TWU outscored Victoria 26-13 over the final 10 minutes 

With the victory, TWU (6-14) finishes the 2019-20 season with three wins in their final four games. The Vikes, who are playoff-bound, finish the year at 12-8. 

TWU's Kianna Wiens (Regina) had a team-high 18 points, while Jolene Vlieg (Leduc, Alta.) finished with 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Julia Marshall (Langley) had 14 points. 

Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) made Spartans history, as she became the first TWU women's basketball player to finish a season averaging a double-double. Fransson finished the year averaging 15.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game after collecting four points and four rebounds Saturday.

Victoria's Marissa Dheenshaw had a team-high 13 points and nine rebounds, while Tana Pankratz had 12 points and Morgan Roskelley had 11 points.

TWU shot 37.1 per cent from the field (23-62) while holding the Vikes to 36.4 per cent (20-55). Victoria had the edge on the glass (47-32) but TWU had just nine turnovers to the Vikes 16. 

The Vikes raced out to a quick lead in the first quarter, taking a 17-8 lead after outscoring TWU 11-4 in the final five minutes of the frame. 

The home side bounced back in the second quarter, out-scoring Victoria 16-14, to close the Vikes lead to seven points, 31-24, at halftime. Pankratz led the Vikes with 12 points at the break, while TWU put together a balanced offence in the opening 20 minutes, with Vlieg leading the Spartans with five points. 

Victoria went back to work early in the second half, putting up 14 points to the Spartans six over the last five minutes of the third quarter to go into the fourth with a nine-point (51-42) lead. 

However, the fourth quarter was a different story. TWU outscored Victoria 16-2 over a 4:48 span early in the fourth quarter, with Marshall and Wiens each collecting five points to help the Spartans take a 58-53 lead. Victoria got back within a point, at 60-59, but the Spartans held onto their lead the rest of the way. 

QUOTABLE
Cheryl Jean-Paul – TWU Head Coach
"There have been so many games where we felt that if we could click at the right times, we would get the outcome we were looking for. Tonight, things clicked at the right time. We started out slow but it was really nice to see us transition to a 'not this time' mindset. We have the ability to get after it and leave it all on the floor, which is what I asked them to do before the game started. It goes to show that you can't assume that the way it goes in the first half is the way it's going to finish. I thought our team decided to not get discouraged and they hit some big shots and had some great takes and it was really exciting to finish like we did." 

NOTABLE
•    TWU honoured graduating seniors Simran Grewal (Surrey, B.C.) and Breanna Cabuco (Port Moody, B.C.) in a post-game ceremony. Grewal finished the night with two points in just over 10 minutes. Cabuco transitioned to an assistant coaching role this year. 
•    TWU earned 15 points over turnovers to the Vikes six. 
•    The Spartans had a 24-18 edge in points off the bench.
•    The Spartans hold a 12-42 all-time record against the Vikes, splitting games in Victoria last season (Nov. 23-24, 2018).

NEXT UP
The Vikes will await their first-round playoff opponent, while the Spartans 2019-20 season came to an end Saturday.

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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