CALGARY – Trinity Western had three players in double-digit scoring, including Blessing Ibekwe, Colette Van der Hoven and Jazmin Avila, but the Spartans lost 64-62 to Mount Royal in preseason action Thursday.

Ibekwe and Van der Hoven had 11 points apiece, while Avila had 10 points. Cassidy Buchanan added nine points and, equalling Ibekwe, had a game-high eight rebounds.

Jenika Martens had a team-leading 24 points for Mount Royal. 

TWU had a 10-9 edge in rebounds. The Spartans committed 18 turnovers to MRU's 29 turnovers. 

QUOTABLE
Cheryl Jean-Paul, TWU Head Coach
"We made a solid push at the end but unfortunately we had a few miscues that prevented us from taking the lead. These games are so critical for us, seeing what improvements we've made since last weekend and revealing some adjustments that we have to continue to work on. We had multiple scoring threats today and had really great stretches of ball movement and creating for each other. We just need to close the gap on a few defensive assignments that we didn't manage well, but we're definitely moving in the right direction. We're looking forward to another opportunity tomorrow against Regina."

UP NEXT 
The Spartans will take on Regina Friday in Calgary at 3 p.m. (MT) before taking on MacEwan Saturday in Edmonton at 2 p.m. (MT).

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in NAIA in cross country and track and field and 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.  

-TW-