EDMONTON – Trinity Western rookie Colette Van der Hoven (Maple Ridge, B.C.) had a team-high 14 points, but it was a strong Alberta team taking a 70-50 win in preseason action Saturday at the Saville Community Sports Centre.
 
Cassidy Buchanan (Aldergrove, B.C.) added 13 points and Shemaiah Abatayo (Vancouver) put up 11 points, while Savannah Vander Kooi (Chilliwack, B.C.) had a team-high six rebounds for TWU.
 
Alberta's Claire Signatovich and Annacy Palmer led the Pandas with 14 points each.
 
The Spartans were within 11 points going to the final frame, but the home side doubled TWU's point total in the fourth quarter, 18-9, to secure the win.

QUOTABLE
TWU head coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"Another great test for our team today. We felt it was a more complete game through four quarters of play than yesterday, so a lot of growth for our team in terms of what it takes to compete at this level. Different players stepped up so now we want to work towards having all those options perform well on the same day. This game will give us a lot of video and information to get back to training and continue to develop both our individual athletes and our team as a whole."

UP NEXT
TWU will return home for their finals preseason game when they will host Lethbridge Oct. 26 at the Spartans on-campus David E. Enarson Gym. Tip-off is at 1p.m. The Spartans open the regular season Oct. 31 against Victoria at 6 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.
 
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 and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
 
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others. 
 
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