By Larry read
Thompson Rivers University Sports Information Officer
The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack decided to make their Friday afternoon (Nov 23) basketball tilts a "School Day" to encourage youngsters to play basketball and university sports. From a PR, excitement and victory standpoint it was a win-win-win situation.
The WolfPack scored a buzzer beater to tie the third quarter and later took the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat to overtime before coming away with a 69-65 victory.
It was TRU's second win in their last three starts.
Michelle Bos had a career game. The fifth year guard from Surrey scored two key baskets in the extra period and wound up with 21 in the game. She was named the TRU Bookstore/McDonalds "Leader of the Pack" player of the game.
UBCO, still looking for their first win of the year was led by Vanessa Botteseille (5th year, guard, North Vancouver, BC) who had 21 points
The WolfPack started out of the gate spurred on by over a thousand students who were in attendance for this rare morning start. TRU up 8-0 before Heat coach Bobby Mitchell had to call a time out to regroup his troops. The Pack led by nine after the first quarter (19-10).
In the second quarter, UBCO battled back to cut the deficit to six thanks in part to four points from Botteselle. TRU led at the break 29-23 getting 12 off the arm of Kanesha Reeves (5th year, guard, Kamloops, BC)
The game seesawed throughout. UBCO outgunned the WolfPack 15-10 in the third quarter and 18-17 in the fourth before the game went to an extra period where Thompson Rivers scored 13 points to UBCO's nine.
TRU is now 2 and 5 on the year while the Heat are winless in nine starts.
The WolfPack and Heat will wind up their weekend series tomorrow (Saturday Nov 24) on the Warner Rentals court at the Tournament Capital Centre. It will the next installment of the "President's Cup" between the two schools. With the win today, TRU moves ahead in the race with two wins, a loss and a tie.
It is a competition involving U SPORTS teams in basketball, volleyball, soccer and cross country. Tip off will be 1 pm PDT.
All WolfPack games—home and away—are webcast on a pay per view basis on Canada West TV.
There was a large crowd on hand for this tilt thanks in part to the WolfPack inviting a number of Kamloops elementary schools to the Tournament Capital Centre. It is part of their effort to expose basketball and university sports to youngsters.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
THEY SAID IT!! (post game quotes):
TRU Assistant Coach Chuck Ferguson::
On the Contest: "It was an exciting game. The kids in the stands made sure of that. It was a great game. Our seniors pulled it out at the end. That is what seniors do. UBC Okanagan played a great game. They gave us a good run. Fantastic shooting on both sides of the ball. They were much better on the glass than we were. We were lucky to come out with the win."
Was this Michelle Bos' best game in a WolfPack uniform? " She is an exceptional player. She plays 1 through 5. She is capable of taking over a game like she did tonight any time she likes. Having her on your team is always an advantage."
Video of post game interview: click here
UBCO head coach Bobby Mitchell (1st season):
On contest: "It was a good game. Both teams played hard. They made a few more points in overtime to come out with the win. I thought we had a slow start in the first quarter and got behind. We expended a lot of energy to get back into the game. That is tough as you go down the stretch. But proud of the group. Proud of the effort. If we continue to do that, we should be ok."
Video of post game interview: click here