By Mark Janzen, Trinity Western University
LANGLEY, B.C. – UBC's Maddison Penn and Keylyn Filewich each earned a double-double to lead the visiting Thunderbirds to a 76-64 win over Trinity Western Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
Filewich finished night with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Penn added 15 points and 15 boards to help UBC (9-4) to its sixth consecutive victory.
The Spartans three-headed attack of Jessie Brown (Langley), Sarah Buckingham (Langley) and Tessa Ratzlaff (Abbotsford, B.C.) put up 18, 17 and 16 points, respectively. The loss drops TWU's record to 8-5.
After building a nine-point lead at halftime, 41-32, the T-Birds pushed their advantage to a game-high 18-points midway through the third quarter and held off the home side the rest of the way. Despite a 13-0 run by TWU late in the third quarter – one that saw TWU close the gap to five points, 53-48 – that was as closed the Spartans came.
The T-Birds won both the battle on the glass, out-rebounding TWU 47-31, and in the shooting percentage department, shooting 50 per cent (34-68) compared to the Spartans 39.7 per cent (27-68).
UBC also had six blocks, while TWU was held without a block.
TWU limited its turnovers to just 13, while UBC had 17.
A fast-paced contest saw the teams combine for just 12 free throw attempts, with TWU shooting 4 for 7 and UBC shooting 1 for 5.
Shooting 55.6 per cent in the opening 10 minutes, UBC opened a 20-10 lead early in the first quarter before a late Spartans charge made it a six-point game, 22-16, by the end of the frame.
The second quarter was more of the same from UBC, with the T-Birds finishing the half shooting 51.4 per cent while out-rebounding TWU 25-15. Back-to-back 3-pointers from TWU's Brown helped the Spartans keep the differential to single digits, with the home team trailing 41-32 at the break.
After a 3-pointer from TWU's Jess Hanson, who finished with 14 points, the T-Birds opened an 18-point lead, 53-35, midway through third quarter. However, the Spartans clawed right back into the game, closing the gap to five points late in the quarter.
UBC pushed it lead back up to 11 points early in the fourth quarter, 64-54, before eventually finishing the night with a 12-point edge.
Friday's game was the Spartans annual Shoot for the Cure night as part of the U SPORTS initiative to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and other related local and provincial charities.
QUOTABLE
Cheryl Jean-Paul – TWU Coach
"It'd be nice to see us play the way we know we can play. We're seeing stretches of it and glimpses of it, but we're not sustaining the good things that are happening. Until we can find that group that is going to consistently get the defensive stops that we need and be able to create offence for each other and confidently take scores when we need to take scores, then we're going to continue to struggle. We gave up a few too many bad swings when we missed something really easy and then gave up a three or a three-point play. We need to keep finding confidence in the fact that we're getting the right looks, but we're just not finishing them.
"Our stats are like our road games. We shoot the ball a little bit less on the road and we don't get as many offensive rebounds on the road. If we want to get back here in the postseason, we need to start playing like this is our home gym."
NOTABLE
• The two teams split their season series last year at UBC, with the T-Birds winning 69-58 before TWU bounced back to win 75-71 in overtime.
• Last year's win was TWU's first victory over UBC since Nov. 1, 2008.
• TWU is 4-46 all-time against the T-Birds.
• The Spartans have lost five of their last seven contests.
About TWU
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 CIS 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.
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 10 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, cross country and track & field. TWU also competes in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) in men's hockey. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 11 U SPORTS team championships and 25 Canada West team championships.
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