ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans had a slow start and were unable to recover as they fell 66-46 to the Fraser Valley Cascades Friday night at the UFV Athletic Centre in Abbotsford, B.C. The loss drops the Spartans to 12-7, while the win improves the Cascades to 16-3.
TWU trailed 41-26 at the half.

Third-year guard Shemaiah Abatayo (Vancouver, B.C.) with 13 points, and five rebounds, and fourth-year Hailey Van Roekel (Langley, B.C.) with eight points, and three rebounds led the Spartans. Maddy Gobeil with 19 points, and six rebounds, Deanna Tuchscherer with 15 points, and six rebounds, and Google Sidhu with 11 points, and four rebounds led the Cascades.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"Tough night tonight. We had a slow start, but that's not unusual for us this semester. But unlike the last four games, a top team in our conference won't let you claw back easily. I was really proud of our defensive second half, we didn't back down and finally pushed back but our offense wasn't on point and that's a major area for us to continue working on. This is exactly the type of battle we want to be in as we head into playoffs. So I'm looking forward to our response tomorrow."
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans shot 25 percent (16/64) from the field, 20 percent (5/25) from the three-point line, and 56.3 percent (9/16) from the foul line. The Cascades shot 37.9 percent (22/58), 16.7 percent (3/18), and 70.4 percent (19/27) respectively.
• UFV had the edge in rebounds 47-42.
• The Cascades had an 18-7 edge in steals.
• Last week Trinity Western swept the UNBC Timberwolves, 65-54, and 73-51 in Langley, B.C.
• Last week Fraser Valley swept the Mount Royal Cougars 73-47, and 70-49 in Calgary, Alta.
• The Spartans are 12-21 lifetime against the Cascades.
• TWU last beat UFV on December 2, 22 68-55, in Langley, B.C.
• The Spartans and Cascades are 2-2 over their last four games, splitting each series in the other team's barn.
• The Spartans are led by Canada West leading scorer fourth-year guard Jayden Gill (Abbotsford, B.C.), who is averaging 18.3 points/game and is fourth in CW at 1.3 blocks/game.
• The Cascades are led by guard Maddy Gobeil who is third in CW in scoring at 17.4 points/game and second in steals with 61.

 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Cascades will finish the two-game series Saturday night at the UFV Athletic Centre. Game time is 5 p.m. and can be seen live on Canada West TV.

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.
 
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