LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans held Thompson Rivers to just 26 points to give the Spartans a decisive 68-26 win over the WolfPack Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The win improves the Spartans to 12-5, while the loss drops the WolfPack to 6-11.
 
Fourth-year forward Myrlaine Shelvey (Langley, B.C.) with 21 points and seven rebounds, first-year guard Mavleen Chahal (Kelowna, B.C.) with 15 points and five assists, and second-year guard Colette Van der Hoven (Maple Ridge, B.C.) with nine points, seven rebounds, and three steals led the Spartans.
 
Morgan Eichenberger, with 11 points and six rebounds, led the WolfPack.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now have an off day before hosting the UNBC Timberwolves on Saturday, January 24, at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. Game time is set for 4 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Cheryl Jean-Paul, TWU Head Coach
"I asked the team before the game started to think of two or three ways that they wanted to be described by the end of the game. Whether it was gritty, just energetic, whatever characteristic they wanted to embody so that we wouldn't be talking about it at halftime, and trying to find that in the last 20 minutes. I thought it was a tentative first quarter, but I really like the defensive energy and the engagement, and it just allowed our offence to finally find its way."

"So this was a good win for us. It was nice to see everybody contribute offensively, defensively, finding the little touches, and the little pokes. I thought we really dictated what was happening on the floor tonight. We are going to have to continue that trend as we head into the final weeks. From my perspective, every game from now on is a playoff game, because everyone is still trying to make the playoffs or fight for a spot. So this allows us to maintain that sense of identity as a team that's fighting for something, heading into the playoffs."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans had a very slow start to the game and with just over two minutes remaining in the opening quarter trailed the WolfPack 12-5. But TWU ended the quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 14-12 lead into the second quarter.  The Spartans' defence dominated the second quarter, holding the WolfPack to one basket as TWU extended its lead to 14 points, taking a 28-14 lead into the halftime break.
 
TWU continued to control the game in the third quarter as they expanded their lead to 20 points by outscoring TRU 20-9 to lead 28-23 heading into the final 10 minutes of play. The Spartans continued their strong play till the final horn, outscoring the WolfPack 20-3 in the final 10 minutes to make the final a 42-point win.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night shooting 37.3 percent (28-75) from the field, 28.6 percent (8-28) from the three-point line, and 50 percent (4-8from the foul line, while the WolfPack shot 22.7 percent (10-44), 0.0 percent (0-9), and 60 percent (6-10) respectively.
• TWU had a 53-30 edge in rebounds, 13-5 in steals, and 20-5 in assists.
• The Spartans finished with 15 turnovers, while the WolfPack finished with 25 turnovers.
• The Spartans are currently 31-13 lifetime against the TRU WolfPack
• Earlier this year, on November 14-15, TWU defeated TRU 64-37 and 67-44 in Kamloops, B.C.
• The Spartans have now won 13 consecutive games against the WolfPack. TWU's last loss, 60-50, to TRU was on November 2, 2019, in Kamloops, B.C.
• TWU hasn't lost a conference game at home against TRU since January 25, 2014, when the Spartans fell 63-51.
• Last week, the Spartans split two home games against the Victoria Vikes. Losing 62-60 and winning 44-38.
• Last week, the WolfPack lost  54-40 at home to the UFV Cascades on January 15 and 72-66 to the UBC Thunderbirds on January 17.

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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