LANGLEY, British Columbia– With four players in double-digit scoring the Trinity Western Spartans used a balanced attack to defeat the UNBC Timberwolves 70-63 Friday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The win moves the Spartans to 9-8 in Canada West, while the loss drops the Timberwolves to 4-13.
 
First-year guard Colette Van der Hoven (Maple Ridge. B.C.) with 18 points and five rebounds, fourth-year guard Shemaiah Abatayo (Vancouver, B.C.) with 11 points, six rebounds, and four steals, third-year guard Cassidy Buchanan (Aldergrove, B.C.) with 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists, and second-year post Blessing Ibekwe with 10 points, and seven rebounds all hit double digits in scoring for the Spartans. Sveta Boykova with 24 points, 14 rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots, and Viktoriia Filatova with 23 points, and seven rebounds led the Timberwolves.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish the two-game series with the Timberwolves tomorrow night at the Langley Events Centre. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. m (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul
"It was important for us to get back into that win column. We've been playing really competitive basketball and for us to be able to play with confidence, we need to know ourselves really well and know exactly what we're struggling with and where we thrive. We don't have that two weeks after the regular season is done to really hone in on who we are as a basketball team. So these games are really important for us to establish ourselves. To see us have four double-digit scores, that's something that we've been working towards all season long. We didn't take care of the ball in the first half, but I love that we did a great job of doing that in the second half. The response was what it needed to be."
 
"In UNBC you are looking at two very good basketball players, who are two of the top scores in our conference and they came out to play. So I'm looking forward to our defense response and managing them better tomorrow and seeing who else is going to step up and be part of the offensive side of things, but then also getting the job done defensively."?
 
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans started well and quickly jumped out to an eight-point, 17-9, lead after a three-point basket by Van der Hoven with just under three minutes remaining. The Timberwolves had a strong finish and outscored the Spartans 10-2 down the stretch with Viktoriia Filatova making an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game 19-19 after the opening quarter.
 
The second quarter was low-scoring and evenly played with TWU outscoring UNBC 13-11 after a deep two-point basket by Savannah Vander Kooi (Chilliwack, B.C.) to put TWU up 32-30 at the half. TWU shot 40.6 percent (13-32) from the field, 30 percent (3-10) from the three-point line, and 75 percent (2-3) from the free-throw line in the half. UNBC shot 27.6 percent (8-29), 33 percent (3-10), and 91.7 percent (11-12) respectively. The Spartans had a 22-18 edge in rebounding in the half.
 
The Spartans were the better team in the second half of the third quarter outscoring the Timberwolves 10-5 in the final five minutes to take an eight-point, 51-43, lead heading into the final quarter.
 
The Spartans maintained control and after a steal and layup by Abatayo TWU led by eight points, 61-53, with 3:50 remaining in the fourth quarter. A three-point basket by UNBC's Filatova cut the TWU lead to five points with 2:50 remaining. The Spartans Van der Hoven sealed the game for the Spartans with a three-point basket with 27 seconds remaining to give TWU an eight-point lead, 68-60. TWU hit their free throws down the stretch to claim the 70-63 win.
 
NOTABLE 

• The Spartans finished the night shooting 39.4 percent (26-66) from the field, 22.7 percent (5-22) from the three-point line, and 76.5 percent (13-17) from the foul line. The Timberwolves shot 30.6 percent (19-62), 19.2 percent (5-26), and 90.0 percent (20-22) respectively.
• The Spartans had a 42-41edge in rebounding.
• TWU finished with 12 steals to UNBC's 10. The Spartans had 16 turnovers to the Timberwolves 20.
• On January 18 in Prince George the Spartans defeated the Timberwolves 88-62.
• TWU is currently on a six-game winning streak against UNBC.
• The Spartans are currently 15-11 lifetime against the Timberwolves.
• Last week the Spartans lost twice to the UBC Thunderbirds losing 79-61 on Friday night, and 74-61 on Saturday night.
• Last week the Timberwolves lost twice, 77-56, and 77-51, to the Fraser Valley Cascades.

 
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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