PRINCE GEORGE, British Columbia– Led by a dominating second half defence the Trinity Western Spartans rallied from a nine point, 38-29, half-time deficit to defeat the UNBC Timberwolves 65-58 to open the Canada West season Friday night at the Northern Sport Centre in Prince George, B.C.
Jayden Gill (Abbotsford, B.C.) , 18 points,
Hailey Van Roekel (Langley, B.C.) with 12 points, and
Jolene Vlieg (Leduc, Alta.), 9 points led the Spartans, while Alina Shakirova with 15 point and Sveta Boykova with 14 points led the Timberwolves.
The Spartans trailed the WolfPack 17-12 after 10 minutes and 38-29 at the end of the first half. However, Trinity Western came out of the break strong and outscored UNBC 20-13 to tie the game as they headed into the final quarter. The Spartans strong defence continued in the fourth quarter as TWU outscored UNBC 16-9 over the final 10 minutes to give the Spartans the seven point win.
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"Tonight's game was a battle. We needed to recognize what they were taking away earlier and that our tempo and defensive pressure can be game changers for us. I thought we wrestled through the first half but really started pushing back in the third. It was great to see a different energy from our group after half and finding the looks that we could create instead of the ones we had been forcing. Hailey, Jayden and Sydney [Bradshaw] (Langley, B.C.) really found ways to be offensive sparks for us, generating great looks from pressure and ball movement. We know every game will be a tough battle this season so it's great to get the first win and especially one on the road."
NOTABLE
• The Spartans are 10-11 lifetime against the Timberwolves.
• Trinity Western shot 39.7 percent, 27-68, from the field, 18.5 percent, 5-27, from the three point line and 50 percent, 6-12 from the foul line, while UNBC shot 35.8 percent, 19-53, 21.4 percent, 3-14, and 73.9 percent 17-23 respectively.
• The Timberwolves out rebounded the Spartans 41-38, while TWU had 12 seals to UNBC's six.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will match up against the Timberwolves again tomorrow night in Prince George. Game time is set for 4 p.m. and 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 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.
-TW-
