The University of Winnipeg Wesmen proved why they belong among the top teams in Canada West women's basketball. The first place Wesmen came into the Tournament Capital Centre and swept the host Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.  The score on Saturday (Jan 14) was 88-65.

SYNOPSIS

The WolfPack suffered their sixth straight defeat as they enter a bye week.  The WolfPack played a stronger second quarter and were outscored 42-40.    Winnipeg was led offensively by Faith Hezekiah with 22 points.   TRU's main offensive weapon was Emily Vilac (3^rd year, forward, Kamloops, BC) who notched 14.

Winnipeg had 13 steals to TRU's 6.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:

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KEY STATS:

Winnipeg:

Faith Hezekiah: 22 points, 8 rebounds (6 defense), 4 assists, two steals, 1 block in 28 minutes

Shawn Pallister: 16 points, 4 rebounds (3 offense), 21 minutes

Antoinette Miller: 14 pts, 8 rebounds(all def), 6-6 (FT-FTA), 4-8 (FG-FGA) 3 steals, 2 assists in 28 minutes

Skylar Boulanger: 11 points, 5 rebounds (3 offense), 3 steals in 20 minutes

Thompson Rivers :

Emily Vilac:  14 points, 2 rebounds (all defense), 1 assist, 4-4 (FT-FTA) in 27 minutes

Emma Piggin: 13 points, 3 rebounds (2 defense), 1 assist in 22 minutes

Leilani Carney: 13 points, 3 rebounds (2 sefense), 1 assist, 1 steal in 30 minutes

Michelle Bos: 9 points, 7 rebounds (4 defense), 2 assists , 2 steals in 28 minutes

Chelsey Hoey: 7 points, 10 rebounds (8 defense), 3 assists, 2 steals in 31 minutes

Shenise Sigsworth: 3 points, 1 rebouknd (defense), 3 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal in 28 minutes.

Turnovers:

TRU  19        WINNIPEG 13

Score by Periods:

Winnipeg         20    26    19    23    88

TRU                   14   11     18   22    65

RECORD:

Winnipeg 13-1      TRU 2-12

QUOTES:

TRU Assistant Coach Chuck Ferguson:

On the Contest:

"I thought it was a better game overall than last night.  We still gave up too many shots. 76 shots is a lot compared to the 58 we took. I thought we were a little better at taking care of the ball and on the glass. That team's quality was tough for us to match. The bye week comes at a good time. It allows us to heal up some nasty knocks and pings.  We will do some fitness training and work towards some of the things that we saw this weekend—some of that ball control, some of the decision making skills and try and get us to the point where we are taking better care of the ball."

Winnipeg head coach Tanya McKay (21 st season)

On the difference in the game:

"For the most part our defense was ok until the second half. We really tried to focus on limiting their back cuts and back screens. For the most part I thought our pressure gave them some problems and enabled us to get our lead. We lost them in the second half. They were finding their shooters and hitting them. But overall, two wins here…I am pleased with that."

UP NEXT: Both the Wesmen and the WolfPack have a bye next weekend (Jan 21-22). TRU then hits the road for games January 27^th and 28^th at the University of Fraser Valley against the Cascades.

The Wesmen visit the MacEwan University Griffins in Edmonton, Alberta (Jan 27-28).

OF NOTE:

The "TRU Bookstore/McDonalds Leader of the Pack" Player of the game was  Michelle Bos (3^rd year, forward, Surrey, BC) who had nine points and seven rebounds.