PRINCE GEORGE, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans earned a weekend sweep of the UNBC Timberwolves with a 55-53 victory Saturday night at the Charles Jago Northern Sports Centre in Prince George, B.C. The win improves the Spartans to 4-2, while the loss drops the Timberwolves to 0-5
The Spartans held a 30-29 lead at the half and a 38-36 lead after three quarters.
Colette Van der Hoven with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds,
Blessing Ibekwe with 14 rebounds, six points, and three assists, and
Myrlaine Shelvey with eight points led the Spartans. Viktoriia Filatova with 26 points, four assists, and Aurora Cabrera with 16 points, nine points, and three blocks led the Timberwolves.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will stay on the road next week and travel to Kamloops, B.C. to take on the Thompson Rivers WolfPack November 14-15. Game times are set for 5:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
AS IT HAPPENED
A 5-2 run to start for Trinity Western. A three from Van der Hoven and a jumper from Vander Kooi. The Timberwolves' first bucket came from Cabrera. Manak then hit a tough layup in traffic to push the score to 5-4 early.
The first bucket of the night from Filatova was an elbow three that opened a 11-9 advantage for the hosts, but the Spartans answered with a 7-0 run. With seconds ticking down in the quarter, Filatova took a pass from Lorenn Caceres and drilled her second triple of the period, pushing the score to a slim 16-14 lead for Trinity Western.
Filatova's third tree of the evening opened the second quarter scoring and moved UNBC up by one. But Van der Hoven answered with a triple and a layup at the other side to put TWU back on top. The two buckets from Van der Hoven kick-started a 9-0 run for the Spartans, but Filatova's fourth and fifth threes halted the run and gave her a team-high 15 points with 2:08 to go in the quarter. A three-point play from Cabrera then sparked the NSC crowd and got UNBC back within two. After a single Spartan free-throw, Claire Huang responded with a tough layup in traffic, pushing the score to 30-29 for the Spartans at half.
Full credit to the Spartans, who opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run with Van der Hoven supplying four of them. That run ended with a terrific turnaround two from Hazel Phillips, another layup in traffic from Huang, and a single free-throw make from Filatova, which moved the score to 38-36 for Trinity Western.
Filatova opened the fourth with a lay-up plus the harm. She converted on the free-throw to give UNBC the lead again at 39-38. A pair of free throws from Buchanan and a jumper from
Mavleen Chahal opened up a three-point lead for TWU.
Neither squad could pull away, and Trinity Western held a slim 48-45 lead with two minutes remaining. Cabrera hit a layup to move UNBC back within one.
Once again, though, Van der Hoven hit a timely jumper, and Chahal followed with a three, and the gap was again at six with less than a minute to play for UNBC.
A single free-throw late from Vander Kooi provided the final dagger, and for a second straight night the Spartans were able to stave off a scrappy Timberwolves squad to earn a 55-50 victory.
NOTABLE
- The Spartans finished the night shooting 31.7 percent (20-63) from the field, 23.8 percent (5-21) from the three-point line, and 45.5 percent (10-22) from the foul line, while UNBC shot 41.7 percent (20-48), 37.5 percent (6-16) and 43.8 percent (7-16) respectively.
- TWU had a 43-30 edge in rebounds.
- The Spartans finished with 11 turnovers and seven steals to the Timberwolves' 18 turnovers and three steals.
- TWU is currently 18-11 lifetime against UNBC.
- The Spartans are currently on a five-game winning streak against the Timberwolves. TWU's last loss, 85-69, was November 5, 2022, on the road in Prince George, B.C.
- Last night the Spartans defeated the Timberwolves 64-51.
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 as in the NAIA in track and field and cross country 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 33 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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