LANGLEY, British Columbia – Trinity Western guard Jayden Gill (Abbotsford, B.C.) played the hero as she hit a corner three-point basket with 8.3 seconds remaining in the game to lift Spartans to a three-point, 66-63, victory over the No. 8 Alberta Pandas Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre.  The victory improves the Spartans to 10-4; while dropping the Pandas to 9-3.
 
Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and four steals, Jolene Vlieg (Leduc, Alta.) with 13 points, and eight rebounds, and Ryann Lee (Calgary) with 13 points, and Jayden Gill with 11 points led the Spartans. Jenna Harpe (Spruce Grove, Alta.) with 14 points, Rylee Semeniuk (Kelowna, B.C.) with 12 points, and Emma Kary (Calgary) with 11 points led the Pandas.
 
After trailing 21-15 after the first quarter, the Spartans were able to stay with the Pandas in the first half, trailing 39-36, by getting to the free-throw line. Alberta shot 45.5 percent from the field to TWU's 36.7 percent, but the Spartans went 11/17 from the foul line to the Pandas 6/9.
 
Midway through the third quarter the Pandas took control and used a 12-7 run to take an eight-point, 51-43 lead with five minutes remaining in the quarter. TWU settled down over the final three minutes to outscore Alberta 5-0 to trail by three points, 53-50 heading into the final quarter.
 
The Spartans kept the momentum going to start the fourth quarter. TWU outscored Alberta 9-0 to take a 59-53 lead with six minutes to go in the game. Alberta got their first basket in eight minutes when Morgan Harris did a reverse lay-up to cut TWU's lead 59-55. The basket sparked the Pandas as they outscored the Spartans 8-0 to take a 63-62 with 38 seconds remaining after a pair of free throws from Jenna Harpe.
 
A technical foul on Alberta's bench with 24.3 gave TWU a foul shot and possession. TWU's Jayden Gill made the free throw to tie game at 63-63. She then hit a corner three-point shot to give TWU a 66-63 with 8.3 seconds remaining. Alberta's Kary missed a contested three-point shot with two seconds remaining as TWU held on for the three point win.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
 "A lot of the conversation we had from yesterday's game to today's game was about being able to respond faster, and being a teammate that can let that missed lay-up or mistake go to make sure you are part of the next stop or the next great offensive play. I thought the team really responded well staying in the moment with our team. It is a really cool moment when you see people come together knowing that every single second matters."
 
"We have been in close games in the past this year where we weren't able to find ways to get the job done. It was so exciting to see, based on yesterday's disappointment, how they recovered from yesterday to come in and make those timely stops and make the right adjustments and to make the right reads and find each other and knock down big shots."
 
"This is what we had high expectations for. That we can play with these kinds of teams. We can compete and we can make things happen. But we really had to stay with our style of play. The goal was to play a 40-minute game against a really good team. And when you play a 40-minute game it comes down to the last shot. It comes down to the last defensive stop. And we made sure that we were in that moment."
 
"A lot of hard work a lot of great decisions a lot of great team play, a lot of heart, and a lot of character. The true nature of our team came out today and it was really exciting to see everyone be a part of that."  
 
NOTABLE
• The Spartans are 5-30 lifetime against the Pandas.
• The Spartans and Pandas last met on January 25, 2020, in a 70-49 Alberta win. The last time TWU defeated Alberta was February 16, 2018, when the Spartans won 70-64.
• TWU shot 30.6 percent (20/60) from the field, 28 percent (7/25) from the three-point line, and 73.1 percent (19/26) from the foul line. While Alberta shot 38.1 percent (24/63), 31.6 percent (6/19), and 64.3 percent (9/14) respectively.
• The Spartans had a 49-42 edge in rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will stay at home for two games next Friday and Saturday against the UBC Okanagan Heat. Game times at the Langley Events Centre are set for 6 p.m. and 5 p.m. Both games 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.
 
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