KAMLOOPS, British Columbia – Led by third-year forward Gracie Corneau (Abbotsford, B.C.) with 17 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks, the Trinity Western Spartans defeated the Thompson Rivers WolfPack 64-48 Saturday night at the Tournament Capital Centre in Kamloops, B.C. The win moves the Spartans to 2-0, while the WolfPack drop to 0-2.

The Spartans led 31-20 at the half.

Second-year guard Cassidy Buchanan (Aldergrove, B.C.) with 11 points and six rebounds, fourth-year guard Hailey Van Roekel (Langley, B.C.) with seven points and nine rebounds, and rookie centre Blessing Ibekwe (Coquitlam, B.C.) with six points and eight rebounds also had strong games for the Spartans. Kelsey Cruz and Olivia Randall each had 13 points for the WolfPack.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1: A slow start to the game for both offences saw the Spartans lead after the opening ten minutes thanks in large part to 10 offensive rebounds. Gracie Comeau led all scorers with four points while Cruz had three for the 'Pack.

Q2: TWU stretched their lead to 11 heading into the halftime break. A 15-point TWU run to make it a 29-10 game was countered by a late WolfPack push that saw Randall catch fire and cut the lead to 11.

Q4: TWU entered the fourth leading 42-32 before the WolfPack gave them a scare. An 11-5 TRU run spurred by seven points from Sundher cut the lead to just four. That was as close as the 'Pack would come however as the Spartans scored 17 of the game's final 24 points to pull out the victory.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
" Our performance defensively needed to be better than yesterday's game and that was the response we got from the entire group tonight. Different contributions from multiple sources really allowed us to separate today. For two younger athletes to lead offensively is a great way to keep building not just for this season but for seasons to come. Gracie and Cassidy were able to exploit the gaps and the team did a great job of supporting them and finding their looks. It's tough coming into any gym on the road to open up the season, so we are happy to start with two wins and looking forward to getting back in the gym to keep improving."

NOTABLE

• TWU finished the night shooting 36.2 percent (25-69) from the field, 9.1 percent (1-11) from the three-point line, and 61.9 percent (13-21) from the foul line. TRU shot 31.5 percent (17-54), 13.3 percent (2-15) and 70.6 percent (12-17) respectively.
• The Spartans outrebounding the WolfPack 49-35. TWU also had an 8-2 edge in blocks.
• In the Canada West preseason coaches' poll the Spartans are ranked No. 10, while the WolfPack are ranked No. 15.
• TWU finished the preseason at 3-3, while TRU finished at 2-3
• The Spartans are 22-13 lifetime against the WolfPack.
• In their last conference meeting TWU defeated TRU 79-45 on January 15, 2022.
• The last time the Spartans lost to the WolfPack was November 2, 2019, 60-50, in Kamloops, B.C.

UP NEXT
The Spartans will now head home for their Canada West home openers against the Regina Cougars on November 10-11. Game time at the Langley Events Centre are set for 6 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The 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 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
 
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