LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans used a strong first half to hold on to a 57-46 win over the visiting Thompson Rivers WolfPack Friday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The win improves the Spartans to 3-4, while the loss drops the WolfPack to 0-7.
 
The Spartans came out strong and played one of their best 20 minutes of the season to lead 43-13 at the half-time break. The WolfPack came out strong in the second half and outscored the Spartans 20-9 in the third quarter. TRU kept pushing and got the game to single digits, 55-46, with 2:30 remaining. But the Spartans were able to hold on for the 11-point win.
 
Third-year guard Cassidy Buchanan (Aldergrove, B.C.) with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots, and fourth-year guard Shemaiah Abatayo (Vancouver, B.C.) with nine points, five assists, four rebounds, and four steals, and second-year Savannah Vander Kooi (Chilliwack, B.C.) with seven points, nine rebounds, and two steals led the Spartans. Danijela Kovacevic with 15 points, and six rebounds, and Morgan Eichenberger with eight points, and 14 rebounds led the WolfPack.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish off the two-game series tomorrow at 4 p.m. (PT). The game can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU head coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"Definitely a tail of two halves. I think that we made a great statement at home in the first half and over the last few weekends, we have seen a greater sense of purpose in Friday's games. ?It was unfortunate that that slipped away in the second half, but it still goes to show you how hard it is to win games at this level. You can have an amazing first half and still battle to win the game by the end of the second half. If you don't repeat the good things that you were doing and recognize the push that the other team is gonna make. So, this now allows us to see if we can battle two nights in a row, as Saturday games are not easy. ?Everyone in this conference is finding ways to get splits, so our objective is to see if we can push back on that and not necessarily try to repeat the first half, twice tomorrow, but just recognize what it takes to win the little battles that we can find a way through this. So, for the team that we have and the inexperience in certain positions and recognizing that some of them are playing a lot more and in much bigger roles than they have in the past, they are finding ways. It just doesn't feel comfortable and we have to learn how to thrive in that space."?
 
NOTABLE 

• The Spartans finished the game shooting 36.7 percent (22-60) from the field, 14,3 percent (2-14) from the three-point line, and 50 percent (11-22) from the free throw line. While the WolfPack shot 30 percent (18-60) from the field, 16 percent (4-25) from the three-point line, and 42.9 percent (6-14) from the free-throw line.
• TWU outrebounded TRU 51-39.
• TWU had 21 turnovers to TRU's 17. With the Spartans having 12 steals to the WolfPack's 10.
• Last weekend on the road the Spartans split with the UBC Okanagan, winning 73-59 on Friday, and losing 73-58 on Saturday.
• Last weekend at home the WolfPack were swept by the UFV Cascades. Losing 87-44 on Friday and winning 76-27 on Saturday.
• TWU is currently 26-13 lifetime against the WolfPack. TWU's last loss to Thompson Rivers in conference play was 60-50 on November 2, 2019, on the road in Kamloops, B.C.
• The Spartans are currently on a seven-game winning streak against the WolfPack.

 
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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