LANGLEY, British Columbia – In a battle between the top two teams in the division the Fraser Valley Cascades made a statement with a 23 points, 70-47, victory over the Trinity Western Spartans Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The loss drops the Spartans to 8-1 and stops their program best eight game winning streak at eight games, while the victory improves the Cascades to 8-1 and moves them into top spot of the West division of Canada West.
 
Jolene Vlieg (Leduc, Alta.) with eight points and 11 rebounds, and Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) with nine points and seven rebounds led the Spartans in the loss. While Deanna Tuchscherer (Chilliwack, B.C.) with 18 points and six rebounds, Alexis Worrell (Liberia, Costa Rica) with 17 points, and Maddy Gobeil (Kamloops, B.C.) with 15 points led the Cascades.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
It was a slow start to the game for both teams as five minutes into the contest the two squads were tied 2-2. The offence opened up over the second five minutes which saw UFV end the opening quarter with five point lead, 15-10.
 
The Cascades continued to be strong to start the second quarter as they extended their lead to nine points, 25-16, four minutes into the quarter. The Cascades continued to have the advantage of the remainder of the quarter as UFV went into the break with a 13 point lead, 37-24.   
 
TWU struggled finding the bottom of the basket in the third quarter. The Spartans finished the half shooting 14.2 percent (2-14) from the field in the third quarter, while the Cascades shot 42.8 percent (6-14) as Fraser Valley headed into the final 10 minutes with a 24 point, 54-30 lead.
 
In final quarter the Cascades expand their lead to 30 points, 60-30, before TWU closed the gap with a 17-10 run over the final eight minutes to make the final score 70-47 for UFV.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans have now lost three consecutive games against the Cascades.
• TWU's last win over UFV was February 2, 2019 when the Spartans won 75-57 at the Langley Events Centre.
• TWU finished the night shooting 22.6 percent, 14-62, from the field, while UFV shot 44.8 percent, 26-58.
• The Spartans had the edge in rebounds at 41-36 and steals at 11-9.
• TWU shot 14.3 percent, 3-21, from the three point line, while UFV shot 36.8 percent, 7-19.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"The mental side of the game is half the battle. It's not necessarily about missing shots, and we did miss shots, but it is about how does it impact who you are as a defender and how does it impact the next offensive scoring play and the offensive looks that you are going for."
 
"I think we became very stagnant. We went back to a lot of bad habits that we have been working out in the first half of the season, so I think we just need to go back to some of the things that gave us success in the first semester. Better movement, better off ball movement, better screening off the ball. Being more assertive in what we are trying to accomplish. I'm looking forward to making some adjustments and seeing what we look like next time. We do get them back and we want to be a better version of ourselves next time we play them."
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will have an off day before hosting the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Saturday afternoon. Game time at the Langley Events Centre is set for 3 p.m. PT. The game can be seen live on Canadawest.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.
 
-TW-