KELOWNA, British Columbia –The Trinity Western Spartans opened the 2025-26 preseason with a comfortable 68-53 win over the Manitoba Bisons, Friday night at the UBC Okanagan gym in Kelowna, B.C.
 
Second-year guard Colette Van der Hoven (Maple Ridge, B.C.) with 21 points, fourth-year forward Jazmin Avila (Abbotsford, B.C.) with nine points, and fourth-year guard Cassidy Buchanan (Aldergrove, B.C.) with eight points led the Spartans.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish the trip to Kelowna, B.C., with a game against the Alberta Pandas tomorrow. Game time at the UBC Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m.
 
QUOTABLE
Chery Jean-Paul, TWU Head Coach
"We knew there would be some things to work through with this being our first university game of the year, but overall, great effort in fighting through some adversity both as individuals and as a collective group. We are using this weekend to simulate our first league split series, which includes travel and a game on the road, followed by a different tough opponent the next day, with very little recovery time. So our push in the 3rd quarter, with a 6-0 run led by Colette, really spurred us on for a great second half. She is creating so many great looks for herself and others from a defensive push. Then everyone else jumped into that same space to give us an 18-point lead midway through the fourth, so we are looking forward to seeing who the catalyst will be tomorrow, as we have a group of players that are getting better every day."
 
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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