LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western hosted the UNBC Timberwolves at the Langley Events Centre for Saturday night's Canada West women's basketball action, falling 74-69 to the visiting side.
 
The Spartans (13-3) had various scoring options neutralized by a frisky Timberwolves (6-7) defence.
 
Saturday night belonged to UNBC's Svetlana Boykova. The first-year hailing from Moscow, Russia threw down a game-high of 29 points. Boykova not only scored in volume, but the first-year did so efficiently, going 11 for 19 from the field with four of five being from 3-point range while tossing in 17 rebounds as well.
 
Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) led the Spartans with 22 points and 10 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. Jolene Vlieg (Leduc, Alta.) came soon after, finishing Saturday's tilt with 16 points and eight rebounds on 6/10 shooting.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans were at odds early as UNBC claimed a massive 20-5 lead early in the first quarter. With the Timberwolves seeming to be in complete control, a series of momentum-building plays occurred for the Spartans as they brought the quarter to a 22-17 close in favour of the visiting side. Jenna Gill (Abbotsford, B.C.) capped off the quarter with a massive steal, leading to a contested layup she made on the break.
 
TWU's first lead of the game arrived five minutes into the second quarter, but neither team could establish any control over the game once TWU finally clawed their way back into the match. The half ended with the Spartans ahead, 40-38.
 
The third quarter hit just as hard as the second. With neither team relenting, the quarter closed with the Spartans ahead once again, 52-51.
 
The final 10 minutes of play was a true segment of entertainment for all onlookers in the Langley Events Centre. With three minutes remaining, the score tied at 63 apiece, and the Spartan faithful buzzing, UNBC decided to play spoiler. After claiming a two-point lead, UNBC's Sarah Kuklisin hit a massive 3-pointer to silence the home crowd, going up five with only 1:23 remaining in the game. The game rolled to a 74-69 close in favour of the Timberwolves.
 
NOTABLE

• With Saturday's game being TWU's final schedule game at home, the Spartans recognized graduating seniors Kianna Wiens (Regina) and Ose Obetoh (Maple Ridge, B.C.) for their final dance in front of the home crowd.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"Tonight was a tough one - we did a great job battling back to take the lead after a slow start but UNBC did a great job of going back to what had been working for them the entire game and we just didn't respond quickly enough. Despite the loss we have been learning a lot and seeing different players gain opportunities so we will continue to build and work towards finishing the regular season well. We also know that beyond basketball it was a great evening to celebrate our senior athletes and we can't say enough about their contributions to our program."
 
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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