VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans had their program record-tying eight-game winning streak come to an end with a 69-64 loss to the UBC Thunderbirds to start the second half of Canada West conference play Friday night at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver, B.C. The loss drops the Spartans to 8-1 while the victory improves the Thunderbirds to 9-2.

TWU trailed UBC 41-28 at the half but outscored the Thunderbirds 36-28 in the second half.

Third-year guard Shemaiah Abatayo (Vancouver, B.C.) with 23 points, and four rebounds, four steals, and two assists, and fourth-year guard Jayden Gill (Abbotsford, B.C.) with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals led the Spartans. Mona Berlitz topped the score sheet for the 'Birds with 21 points and eight rebounds.  Olivia Weekes added 12 points, five rebounds and an assist, while Sofia Bergman contributed another ten points and five rebounds.

AS IT HAPPENED
In the first quarter, with the game tied 8-8 after a series of quick and aggressive charges at the glass from both teams, the T-Birds' second-year guard Cerys Merton and Weekes shot three-pointers on consecutive possessions, sending the home crowd into a frenzy and igniting a flurry of baskets for the 'Birds, which swiftly brought the game to 21-10. The 11 point lead was short-lived however as the Spartans picked their way back with quick plays at the glass to narrow their deficit to four, ending the quarter at a more manageable 23-19.

The second quarter opened with continued charges to the net from both teams resulting in a multitude of free throws. The following period of empty possessions was broken up by an exchange of points from UBC's Sofia Bergman who landed a pair of free throws and a layup, while the Spartans' Blessing Ibekwe responded with a pair of baskets. A three-pointer from late UBC substitute Stella Lagrange near the end of the second increased the hosts lead to 13 points, which only grew from there. The quarter ended 41-28 for UBC.

The T-Birds continued to cement control over the game in the third stanza allowing only 10 Spartan points. UBC did see moments of trouble from Spartans third-year guard, Abatayo, who finished the first half with 10 points and three boards. An impressive inside pass to Jayden Gill, threaded by Abatayo gave the visitors a boost of confidence near the end of the quarter but the 'Birds lockdown defence and a determined Berlitz, who continued to rack up points helped keep UBC ahead 50-38 by the end of the frame.

Abatayo, started the last quarter with an impressive triple for the Spartans while teammate, Gill, went to work in the paint, drawing a foul and finishing a layup. After another Abatayo basket which earned an and-one, UBC was forced to regroup with a timeout while holding a nine-point lead. After the break, Abatayo and Gill continued a hot streak of rebounds and baskets further narrowing the Spartans deficit to five points 59-54. With the momentum slipping toward the Spartans, Hailey Counsell hit a jump shot to give UBC a much-needed spark, but Gill continued her impressive play in earning multiple free throws to pull TWU within one at 61-60 with 2:04 on the clock. A T-Birds foul gave Trinity's Gracie Corneau a chance to put the Spartans in front but both shots were missed. After Spartan baskets from Cassidy Buchanan and Ibekwe and four successful UBC free throws the blue and gold were able to salt the game away by a score of 69-64.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"We had the finish that we wanted in terms of a great offensive quarter, we just had a few too many untimely turnovers at the end for us to get the win. We got ourselves within distance but the deficit was just a little too deep at half. But this game and this opponent are exactly what our group needs to learn how to win tough games. We had room for mistakes in the first semester but are learning quickly that even just a few mistakes can cost you the game. The question for us is how quickly can we learn and apply those lessons to become the team that we have the potential to be."
 
NOTABLE

• TWU finished the night shooting 39.7 percent (25/63) from the field, 14.3 percent (2/14) from the three-point line, and 70.6 percent (12/17) from the foul line. While UBC finished shooting 40 percent (24/60), 25 percent (4/16) and 68 percent (17/25) respectively.
• The Thunderbirds finished the night with a 43-35 edge in rebounds, while the Spartans had a 4-1 edge in blocked shots.
• The Spartans are 7-53 lifetime against the Thunderbirds.
• Last season the Spartans lost 75-64, and 62-57 to the Thunderbirds, snapping TWU's three-game winning streak against UBC.
• The Spartans, who were 8-0, had never started a CW conference season 9-0. TWU started the 2021-22 season 8-0 before losing to UFV, 70-47.\

UP NEXT
The Spartans and Thunderbirds will match up again tomorrow night at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver, B.C. Game time is set for 4 p.m. and 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.
 
-TW-