Larry Read, TRU Sports Information Officer
Kamloops, BC: The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack women's basketball team has opened up the 2016-17 Canada West season with back to back defeats. On Saturday (Nov 5) on the Warner Rentals Court at the Tournament Capital Centre, they fell 58-38 to the visiting University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.
SYNOPSIS
The WolfPack struggled on offense and on defense: for the second straight night they gave up 30+ turnovers. But, UBC was no better on this night as they surrendered the ball 25 times. TRU couldn't convert on their shots. Maddison Penn (2nd year, guard, North Lyneham, Australia) was UBC's leading scorer with 16 points. Kara Spotton (5th year, forward, Fort Collins, Colo) had 14 points. TRU's main threat was Chelsey Hoey (2nd year, forward, Parksville, BC) who had nine points and 11 rebounds. She was named the "TRU Bookstore/McDonalds Leader of the Pack player of the game." "It was well deserved," said WolfPack assistant coach Chuck Ferguson. "She was in fighting for rebounds every chance she got. I think she worked hard and was rewarded. We need to get that effort from everybody for a consistent 40 minutes."
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
KEY STATS:
Thompson Rivers
Chelsey Hoey: 9 points 11 rebounds (8 on defence), 3-6 (FT-FTA), 3-9 (FG-FGA) four steals 29 mins
Emily Vilac: 7 points 4 rebounds (3 on defense), 3-9 (FG-FGA), one steal 30 mins
Michelle Bos: 7 points 2 rebounds (both defense) 2-2 (FT-FTA), three assists, one steal 27 mins
Shenise Sigsworth: 4 points 4 rebounds (all defense), two assists, two steals 31 mins
UBC :
Maddison Penn: 16 points, 1 rebounds, 3 assists 4-4 (FT-FTA) two steals 23 mins
Kara Spotton: 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists 4-5 (FT-FTA) 5-10 (FG-FGA) 21 mins
RECORDS:
TRU: 0-2 UBC 2-0
QUOTES:
TRU assistant coach Chuck Ferguson:
On the Contest: " I liked that we didn't give up until the end. We were still trying to find ways to run our offense. We fixed our shooting percentage a little (30.4 per cent (fg), 35.7 per cent (ft)) from the night before. But we gave up 13 offensive rebounds which they turned into 26 points. We turned the ball over 38 times. That is just tough. I don't think either team will be pleased with the way they played tonight."
On adjustments: It is not major adjustments. We just need to start hitting shots. We had a terrible weekend shooting the ball. That really hurt us and we are not a poor shooting team. Why that happened? Maybe nerves. Certainly we need to shoot the ball better and take better care of it."
UBC head coach Deb Huband:
On the Game: "I think last night we played better than we did tonight. I was a little disappointed in the level of our energy. We didn't take care of the ball as well tonight and had some defensive breakdowns at times. Its nice to get the win and get the sweep."
Was inconsistency tied to the start of the year?: "I think travelling and being in league were factors. I expected more from our group. I thought we had a good start in the first quarter and then fell flat and didn't recover the rest of the game."
UP NEXT:
Next weekend (Nov 11-12) Thompson Rivers will head to Manitoba to take on the Bisons. It is the start of a four game roadswing for the 'Pack which also sees them going to Alberta (Nov 18-19) to face the Golden Bears. UBC has a bye week. They return to action November 18-19 vs Manitoba in their 'home opening' weekend.
Next home action for Thompson Rivers doesn't come up until Friday, November 25 th when they entertain their closest geographical rivals, the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat.