VANCOUVER, B.C. – Fourth year guard Kianna Wiens scored a career best 29 points to lead the Trinity Western Spartans to a 72-68 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds to open Canada West Conference play Thursday night at UBC's War Memorial Gym.
 
The Spartans trailed 16-14 at the end of the first quarter, but a strong second frame gave TWU a 37-30 lead at the half. UBC had a strong third quarter, outscoring TWU 23-17, to make the score 54-53 for the Spartans heading into the final frame.
 
Third year guard Jolene Vlieg with 16 points and eight rebounds, third year forward Nicole Fransson with 12 points and two rebounds, and second year guard Jayden Gill with nine points, four assists, and three rebounds also had a strong night for the Spartans.
 
Hailey Counseil with 24 points, and five rebounds, and Emily Martindale with 13 points and three rebounds led the T-Birds in the loss.
 
Emily Martindale opened the scoring for UBC and the Spartans answered with a three as the two teams settled into the flow of things after the lengthy layoff. Katie Hartman's first bucket as a 'Bird trimmed the Spartans lead to 11-8 midway through the first quarter before Kate Johnson cut straight to the rim for a tough finish and a 12-11 UBC advantage. Counsell and Ryann Kristmanson connected on a give-and-go off an inbound to give the T-Birds their largest lead of the game at 14-11 as the home team held a 16-14 edge heading into the second quarter. 
 
Counsell continued where she left off in the first quarter with a quick two on the 'Birds first possession of the second and each team continued to trade buckets. Forstbauer earned her first basket with the T-Birds on a strong step-through to give UBC a 28-27 lead with 3:57 remaining in the half. The Spartans evened it up at 28-28 with a Vlieg free throw and retook the lead on a pair of Jayden Gill layups at 32-28. Wiens drained her second three as time expired to lift the Spartans to a 37-30 lead at the half.
 
Johnson knocked down a smooth pull-up jumper from the elbow to make it a four-point game at 38-34 before tying it at 38-38 with a layup that forced a Trinity Western timeout early in the third quarter. Wiens found Vlieg in the paint for an easy lay-in and a one-point edge late in the third, but Olivia Morgan-Cherchas sank two free throws to put the 'Birds in the lead again at 51-50. The Spartans capitalized on a T-Bird turnover and put Vlieg on the line for two and took a narrow lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The fourth quarter started off as evenly matched as the previous three before Counsell nailed a three that got the crowd on their feet. Wiens dropped a triple of her own to silence the home fans at 65-62, but the rookie Hartman scored her first trey as a Thunderbird to tie it at 65-65 with three minutes remaining. Forstbauer knocked down a free throw to make it 68-67, but Fransson scored a tough jumper in the paint to give the Spartans a 69-68 edge with 33.8 seconds on the clock. Trinity Western defended well out of the UBC timeout and regained possession with 10.2 remaining. Johnson intentionally fouled Wiens – who hit both free throws for a 71-68 lead with 7.7 left. UBC turned the ball over with three seconds remaining and were forced to foul TWU's Vlieg hit 1-2 free throws to make the final 72-68.
 
NOTABLE

• TWU last won, 75-71, at UBC's War Memorial on November 18, 2017.
• The Spartans are now 3-26 lifetime against the Thunderbirds.
• In the Canada West pre-season poll UBC was ranked No. 9, while TWU was ranked No. 10.
• Weins had an impressive shooting night. She finished shooting 52.6 percent (10-19) overall, 60 percent (3-5) from the three point line, and 100 percent (6-6) from the foul line.
• TWU shot 43.5 percent (27-62) from the field, 23.1 percent (3-13) from three-point line, and 71.4 percent (15-21) from the free throw line. UBC shot 36.8 percent (25-68), 20 percent (3-15), and 75 percent (15-20) respectively.
• The Thunderbirds outrebounded 43-40. TWU had 18 turnovers, while UBC had 11.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"What an exciting way to start the regular season! Back and forth but we made some great plays when we needed them most. Really strong leadership and gritty play from our older athletes and their determination really helped us finish the game well. Some early season hiccups that are expected at this time of the year, but we'll work through those. We knew it was going to be a tough one but we got the job done and look forward to more."
 
"They just kept battling. There were so many lead changes in that game. Our ability to stay composed and get back into it is just a great sign of resilience for us. We play Victoria tomorrow night, so we needed to get tonight so I'm really excited we got this game today."

UP NEXT
The Spartans will head home to host the University of Victoria Vikes Friday night. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre. The match can be seen live on Canadwest.tv.

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.

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-Files from UBC Thunderbirds