LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans used a balanced scoring attack and a strong first half to defeat the Fraser Valley Cascades 70-62 Friday night at the David E. Enarson Gym on the TWU campus in Langley, B.C. The win extends the Spartans winning streak to three games and improves their record to 5-4, while the loss drops the Cascades to 6-3.
 
Trinity Western led Fraser Valley 24-14 at the end of the first quarter, 46-35 at halftime, and 61-50 after 30 minutes.
 
The Spartans had five players hit double digits in scoring on the night. Leading the way were third-year guard Cassady Buchanan (Aldergrove, B.C.) with 12 points, five assists, and four rebounds, second-year forward Savannah Vander Kooi (Chilliwack, B.C.) with 12 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, and fourth-year guard Shemaiah Abatayo (Vancouver, B.C.) with a double-double of 10 points, 12 assists, and six rebounds. Julia Tuchscherer with 19 points, and eight rebounds, Maddy Gobeil with 15 points, and six rebounds, and Esther Allison with 10 points, and four rebounds hit double-digits for the Cascades.
 
UP NEXT
Tonight's game was the Spartans' final game of the first semester. TWU's next match-up is January 10-11 when the Spartans will travel to Victoria, B.C. to take on the Victoria Vikes. Game times at the CARSA are set for 6 p.m. (PT) and 5 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU head coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"What a great way to finish the semester. We have been battling, and I would say that we've spent a lot of this semester battling ourselves and recognizing what we need to do to be the best version of ourselves. And in a game that should have been the most exhausting game of the semester because you've traveled and you've been battling and had physical games, this team dug so deep, they stuck together, and they brought the best version of themselves to play tonight. As a coach, the proud things for me are not necessarily even winning this game. It's the fact that they bought into what needed to get done to win this game. ?And not just the preparation from this week, but really this entire semester of all the little small things. We had players come in and make some really big shots that haven't necessarily needed to score up until this point. But every defensive stop mattered, every score mattered, every rebound mattered, and every defensive help rotation mattered. And at the end of the day, we got a great win."?
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans came out strong to start the game and quickly took a 10-4 lead. TWU finished the opening quarter with a 10-point, 24-14, lead over UFV. The second quarter was an evenly played 10 minutes with the teams exchanging baskets. The Spartans would go into the half-time break with an 11-point, 46-35, lead. TWU's largest lead was 16 points, 38-22, with 5:17 to go in the second quarter.
 
The Cascades cut the Spartans' lead to seven points, 54-47, to start the second half, but were unable to get closer in the third quarter as TWU matched UFV to take an 11-point lead, 61-50, into the final 10 minutes. The Spartans expanded their lead to 13-points, 66-53, with six minutes to go before closing out the game with an eight-point win.
 
NOTABLE 

• The Spartans finished the game shooting 48.4 percent (30-62) from the field, 27.8 percent (5-18) from the three-point line, and 71.4 percent (5-7) from the free throw line. While the Cascades shot 37.1 percent (23-62) from the field, 6.3 percent (1-16) from the three-point line, and 68.2 percent (15-22) from the free-throw line.
• TWU outrebounded UFV 39-34.
• TWU had 17 turnovers to UFV's 14. With the Spartans having 10 steals to the Cascades nine.
• Last weekend at home the Spartans swept the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, winning 57-46 and 62-32 at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
• Last weekend at home the Cascades split with the Victoria Vikes, losing 71-57 and winning 68-62 at home at the UFV Athletic Centre in Abbotsford, B.C.
• TWU is currently 13-22 lifetime against the Cascades.
• Last season TWU lost both games to UFV, 63-50, and 66-46 in Abbotsford. The Spartans' last win over the Cascades was 68-55 on December 2, 2022.

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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