Box Score LANGLEY, BC– Led by Laurissa Weigl (Stony Plain, Alta.), who had a career-high 16 points, the Trinity Western women's basketball team had three players hit double-digits in points and held CIS leading scorer Cassie Cooke to just 15 points to earn a 57-46 win over Brandon Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
 
The Spartans also had their best defensive effort of the season as they held the opposition to less than 50 points for the first time this year.
 
After a low-scoring first quarter that saw Brandon take a 7-6 lead, the Spartans exploded in the second quarter with 21 points to open a 27-19 halftime lead. From there TWU never trailed as it improved to 4-13 on the season. Brandon dropped to 5-12.
 
Despite collecting 26 offensive rebounds and 53 total boards, the Bobcats were unable to keep up with the Spartans as the visitors shot just 22.7 per cent from the field. The Spartans countered by shooting 43.1 per cent.
 
Beyond Weigl, the Spartans, who were playing without Holly Strom for the fourth game in a row, got key offensive contributions from both Janelle Traber (Abbotsford, B.C.) and Chantelle Martin (Surrey, B.C.), who each tallied 12 points. Kayla Gordon (Prince George, B.C.) had a team-high six rebounds to go with five points. Weigl's previous career high was 14 points, which she had previously earned twice.
 
After Cooke, who entered the game averaging 24.5 points per game this year, Brandon's Kaela Cranston added 10 points while Keegan Robinson had six points. Jaynell Gillett had a team-high nine rebounds.
 
It was a low-scoring first quarter as both teams struggled from the field. After a back-and-forth 10 minutes, Brandon took a 7-6 lead into the second quarter. TWU's Weigl scored all six points for the Spartans while Brandon had three different scorers.
 
The Spartans turned things around in a big way in the second quarter, shooting 66.6 per cent on 10 of 15 shooting from the field and outscored the Bobcats 21-12. With Martin collecting eight points to lead TWU in the quarter, the Spartans opened a 27-19 halftime lead. Brandon was 5 for 14 from the field in the second quarter with Amy Williams putting up a team-high five points. The Spartans held Cooke to just three first half points.
 
In the third quarter, Cooke started to find her groove as she collected nine points, but the Spartans still managed to out-score the Bobcats 18-17 in the quarter and lead 45-36 going to the final frame.
 
The Spartans Luca Schmidt (Langley) dropped a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to make it 48-36 and TWU never gave the Bobcats a chance to make a comeback. Cooke did get Brandon within six at 51-45, but a basket from Martin shortly thereafter restored TWU's eight-point lead at 53-45. From there, TWU cruised to the 11-point win.
 
The Spartans are back on the court Saturday when they host Regina at 5 p.m. Brandon will travel to play Fraser Valley Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
Game Notes: The win is the Spartans largest margin of victory all season…TWU was 1 for 9 from 3-point range while Brandon was 3 for 20.