KELOWNA, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans used a strong third quarter to defeat the UBC Okanagan Heat 73-59 Friday night at the UBC Okanagan Gym in Kelowna, B.C. The win improves the Spartans to 2-3 in conference play, while the loss drops the Heat to 2-3.
 
TWU, who took a two-point, 37-35, lead into the half-time break, dominated the third quarter, 24-14, to take a 61-49 lead into the final 10 minutes. The Heat were unable to close the gap in the low-scoring, 12-10, final quarter as TWU earned the 14-point win.
 
Third-year guard Cassidy Buchanan (Aldergrove, B.C.) with 27 points, six steals, and five rebounds, and fourth-year guard Shemaiah Abatayo (Vancouver, B.C.) with 22 points, five rebounds, four steals, and four assists led the Spartans. Lily Pink with 13 points, and seven rebounds, and Tennyson McCarthy with 10 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and two assists led the Heat.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Heat will finish the two-game series tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. (PT) at the UBC Okanagan gym. The game can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU head coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"Tonight was a great response to last weekend's tough loss. We focused on handling our details this week and it was great to see the buy-in from everyone defensively in understanding what we had to do to get a win. It was nice to see the maturity that Shem and Cassidy displayed today, their leadership was an important part of maintaining the lead. Tomorrow's game will be a tough one, so we look forward to continuing this journey that we're on and seeing what we are building as a program."
 
NOTABLE 

• The Spartans finished the game shooting 47.5 percent (28-59) from the field, 44.4 percent (4-9) from the three-point line, and 61.9 percent (13-21) from the free throw line. While the Heat shot 34.3 percent (24-70) from the field, 26.7 percent (4-15) from the three-point line, and 87.5 percent (7-8) from the free-throw line.
• TWU outrebounded UBCO 42-37.
• TWU had 22 turnovers to UBC'Os 21. With the Spartans having 18 steals to the Heat's 14.
• Last weekend the Spartans split with the Mount Royal Cougars, winning 84-74 in overtime, and losing 64-45 in Calgary, Alta.
• Last week the Heat were swept by the Fraser Valley Cascades, 76-63, and 84-75 in overtime, on the road in Abbotsford, B.C.
• TWU is currently 20-6 lifetime against UBC Okanagan. In their last meeting in the Canada West play-off last season in Abbotsford, B.C. the Spartans lost 63-57 in the play-in game. TWU split the conference season series last year with UBC Okanagan losing 77-69, and winning 91-72 in Langley, B.C.

 
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.
 
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 U 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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