CALGARY – Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) threw down a record-breaking 38-point performance to hold off a surging MacEwan team in Saturday's Canada West playoff action, lifting the Spartans to a 77-71 victory.
 
Saturday's hard-fought game saw Fransson, who was recently named to Canada West's Second All-Star Team, break TWU's single-game scoring record across all competitions, beating Kayla Gordon and Taylor Stuart's shared record of 35 points. Fransson did all of this on 64 percent shooting, going 16-25 from the field in Saturday's massive victory.
 
Kianna Wiens (Regina) and Hailey Van Roekel (Langley, B.C.) each put down 11 points while Jayden Gill (Abbotsford, B.C.) chipped in with 10 of her own points.
 
MacEwan's Noelle Kilbreath led the Griffins in Saturday's loss, dropping a team-high 29 points on 12-20 shooting. Kilbreath continually held the Griffins within reach of the Spartans throughout the entire game.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans controlled the script of play in the first quarter, holding MacEwan back whenever a run seemed imminent. The quarter closed at a 22-16 with eight points coming from Fransson in her historical performance.
 
A low scoring second quarter would tilt in favour of the Griffins as they would go on to outscore the Spartans 16-9, handing MacEwan a 32-31 lead heading into the break. TWU was unable to get much done offensively in the quarter, shooting 17.6 percent from the field on 17 attempts.
 
Fransson exploded for 13 points and five rebounds in a high-paced third quarter, tying the game at 50 points apiece. Although TWU's shooting woes continued in the third, their work on the glass held the game in balance, outrebounding the Griffins 14-5 with six coming on the offensive side.
 
After two consecutive quarters of poor shooting as a team, Nicole Fransson carried the Spartans home in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 points to outpace MacEwan guard Noelle Kilbreath's nine. TWU outscored the Griffins 27-21 on 69.2 percent shooting, ending the game at a 77-71 line in favour of the favourited Spartans.
 
NOTABLE

• TWU shot incredibly well from the free-throw line on Saturday, dropping 19 of 22 attempts for a team percentage of 86.4.
• Jolene Vlieg (Leduc Alta.) led TWU with 11 rebounds in Saturday's victory.
• Turnovers played a massive factor on both ends of the court. The Spartans were able to limit their turnovers to 21 compared to MacEwan's 25 on the day.
• The Spartans outrebounded the Griffins 38-29.

 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"We've been talking about handling pressure and distractions the last several weeks to get ready for this moment and it's nice to see that – even though we dealt with both of those things – I thought at the end we handled it well. I thought we really finished well.

On Nicole Fransson:
"We've been talking all season long about how some of those easy finishes for her have just really not allowed her to set herself apart even farther. She's had some 20-point performances where it's only been five or six were easy points for her. So it's just great to see her at this point in the season just have that dominant…She got new shoes. So we're assuming it's because she had her new shoes so I think those are now lucky shoes. But just – she had a dominant attitude today and it was really nice to see her play with confidence and that's what we need from her for us to have success."

On MacEwan
"There are times where it's pick your poison. We were really concerned with Farmer's ability to get those back-to-baskets, but credit to number 12. She had a great game. That's what it takes to win at this level. You need multiple players that can step up. That's who stepped up for them tonight and we're glad Nicole won the one-on-one scoring battle. We'll put it that way."

Nicole Fransson on Saturday's victory:
"The last two weeks we've had time off, so just practicing the easy looks and taking my time. I think I've been rushing all year and just made sure to finish the easy ones and get it done.

"It was definitely different not having a lot of time to prepare, just finding out yesterday. But just trusting our teammates and trusting ourselves, we had each other's back and we knew we could do it if we played our game."

UP NEXT
With a berth to the Canada West quarterfinals secured, the Spartans are set to take on the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Sunday at 3 p.m. (MT). Catch all of the live action on cw.yare.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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