LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western defeated No. 4-ranked UFV 68-55 at the Langley Events Centre on Friday night.
The Spartans (7-2) were lifted by a stellar performance from
Jolene Vlieg (Leduc, Alta.), who scored a game-high of 17 points while grabbing five rebounds. For the Cascades (7-2), it was the duo of Maddy Gobeil and Natalie Rathler who each scored 16 points, carrying a significant load for UFV.
Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) also chipped in with a valuable stat-line of 10 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists, marshalling a major TWU advantage in rebounding on the game (51-32).
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans held a lead for all four quarters but the first, with UFV outscoring TWU 17-15 in a competitive frame.
TWU wrapped up the half with a 33-29 lead after jumping to as much as a five-point lead in the second frame of play.
The Cascades pushed back in the third quarter, but TWU held the line courtesy of some impressive shooting from
Ryann Lee (Calgary) and
Shemaiah Abatayo (Vancouver), ending the quarter with a 51-48 lead.
TWU stunted any threat the Cascades presented in the fourth, outscoring the visitors 17-7 in the final period of play to close out a 68-55 victory.
QUOTABLE
Cheryl Jean-Paul – TWU Head Coach
"When you get into weekend five of five, you have to dig deep. The team did a great job of staying together in that process. We've had some tough road-trips, we've had tough battles, but the resilience of this group is there. They pushed through when things weren't going their way. We've also had some great performances by different people each week, and tonight it was Jolene [Vlieg] finding a way to get to the rim and the free-throw line. That balances some of the great performances we've had from Jayden [Gill] (Abbotsford, B.C.) and Nicole [Fransson]. We've been challenging our second unit to find a way to contribute, and I thought they did a great job in tonight's game by making little moments worth something. That's what depth looks like – coming in and saying 'I've got this, I can cover this, and I can score this'.
"I loved how we rebounded today. We've had to learn how to do that against some of the teams we've played in recent weeks, and every team brings a need for a different style of play, but I think we were ready to be in this moment."
NOTABLE
- TWU excelled on second-chance points off of their strong rebounding night, outscoring UFV 21-8 in the category.
- Jayden Gill had an outstanding defensive performance, blocking two shots while adding five steals in the win.
- TWU is 12-19 all-time against the Cascades, winning only two of the last six meetings they've had with UFV.
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.
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