CALGARY – Trinity Western outscored Mount Royal 13-3 in overtime, as the Spartans earned their first win of the season, beating the Cougars 84-74 Friday at Kenyon Court. 

After the Cougars hit a game-tying three-pointer with five seconds to play to send it to overtime, the Spartans, led by Shemaiah Abatayo who had four points and three assists in the extra session, put together a dominant overtime performance to take the win. The victory sees the Spartans improve to 1-2 on the season. MRU falls to 2-1. 

Abatayo finished the night with 17 points and seven assists, while Cassidy Buchanan had a double-double to lead the Spartans with 20 points and 10 rebounds to go with four assists and two steals. Jazmin Avila and Blessing Ibekwe had 10 rebounds apiece as TWU finished the night with 51 rebounds to MRU's 43.

MRU was led by Nora Luca, who had 23 points on the night.

The Spartans shot 44.4 per cent (8-18) from beyond the arc, while holding MRU to 29.6 per cent (8-27).

TWU held a 42-35 lead at halftime, but the Cougars clawed back into the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Spartans 23-14 over the 10-minute frame. The Spartans bounced back to take a fourth-quarter lead before the Cougars sent it to overtime in the waning moments. 

QUOTABLE 
Cheryl Jean-Paul, TWU Head Coach
"This was a great game to see that we have so much more to accomplish as a defensive and offensive group. We continue to dig ourselves into a hole with turnovers, but I was really impressed with how we finished that game. We are learning what it takes to get leads and keep leads and we will continue to gain confidence as we see ourselves doing that for longer stretches of time. We know how hard it is to win games in Canada West, so this isn't something we take lightly."

UP NEXT 
TWU and MRU will play the rematch Saturday at 5 p.m. (MT) at Kenyon Court. 

NOTABLE
•    The Spartans are 11-2 all-time against MRU and have only lost once in the regular season against the Cougars (Feb. 8, 2014 – 69-54).
•    TWU opened the season with a close loss against Victoria (69-65) before a setback against now No. 4-ranked UBC.

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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