LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western capped its best opening semester in program history with an 82-69 win over Brandon Saturday at the David E. Enarson Gymnasium. The Spartans finished the fall semester with a program record 8-2 regular season mark.
A close contest through three quarters went the Spartans way late, as the home side put together their best defensive quarter of the night in the final frame, outscoring Brandon 22-13, en route to a 13-point win.
The Spartans offensive depth came to life Saturday night, with five different players earning double-digits in points, led by Kayla Gordon (Prince George, B.C.), who had a game-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds.
TWU's Tessa Ratzlaff (Abbotsford, B.C.) had 15 points, while Ashleigh Brown (Oceanside, Calif.) had 12 points and seven boards, Jessie Brown (Langley) had 12 points and five rebounds and Sarah Buckingham (Surrey, B.C.) put up 11 points and grabbed six off the glass.
Hailey Maas led the Bobcats (2-8) with 20 points, while Lauren Anderson had 12 points and Gabrielle Jubinville added 10 points each.
Similar to Friday night's contest, the Bobcats got out to a quick start, shooting 56.3 per cent in the opening quarter to nab a 23-20 lead through 10 minutes.
The Spartans, who shot 47.1 per cent from the field in the first quarter, was held to just 40 per cent in the second quarter, but a late jumper from Buckingham evened the contest 41-41 at the break. The hot-shooting Bobcats cooled slightly in the second quarter, shooting 46.7 per cent.
In the second half, the home side started to take over. TWU outscored the Bobcats by four points in the third quarter, 19-15, but it was a hot start in the fourth quarter that turned the tides the Spartans way. A quick 5-0 run midway through the final frame put TWU ahead 71-63. Then, with just over three minutes to play, the Spartans launched a 9-0 run that buried the Bobcats.
TWU finished the night with 16 assists, while Brandon had just five. The Spartans also had a 45-37 edge on the glass.
Going back to last year's post-season, the Spartans have won four straight games against Brandon since losing Game 1 of their Canada West Play-In Series.
The weekend series with the Bobcats was a rematch of last year's Canada West Play-In Series, which the Spartans won in a decisive Game 3 to capture their first ever playoff series victory.
The Spartans will play Thompson Rivers twice in exhibition action Dec. 29-30 in Kamloops, B.C. before opening the winter semester against Fraser Valley Jan. 4-5. The Bobcats return to Canada West action Jan. 5-6 with a home-and-home series against Winnipeg.
