The Spartans women’s basketball team fell 70-62 against the UNBC Timberwolves in its home-opener Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
TWU was searching for its first win of the season and falls to 0-3 with the loss. The Timberwolves record improves to 1-2.
Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) led TWU’s offence with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Kianna Wiens (Regina, Sask.) added 18 points and Jolene Vlieg (Leduc, Alta.) adding a game-high seven assists.
Timberwolves forward Madison Landry’s 20 points led UNBC’s offence.
Friday’s match was the first game between the two teams since UNBC’s 80-78 win in last season’s Canada West play-in game at the Langley Events Centre.
After the Spartans opened the game with leads of 4-0 and 6-2, UNBC would go on a 11-5 run in the first quarter to hold a 13-11 lead after the first.
TWU had a strong start into the second quarter, which saw them open on a 9-0 run. The Spartans led for the majority of the quarter, including a 20-13 lead at one point, but a last second layup from Emma vanBruinessen gave the Timberwolves a 33-32 lead at the half.
Fransson led TWU with 12 points and five rebounds in the first half, while Madison Landry’s 12 points led UNBC.
The second half saw much of the same, with UNBC and TWU trading points before the Timberwolves added five points to their lead, up 57-51 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves opened the fourth quarter on a hot stretch, going on a 10-2 run and never looking back. Despite TWU closing the gap to within nine points in the final two minutes, UNBC prevailed 70-62 on the road.
UNBC held a 49-36 advantage in rebounds and shot 49.2% (30/61) from the field, while the Spartans had a 7-5 advantage in steals while shooting 30.7% (23-75).
The loss drops the Spartans to 0-3 on the season, while UNBC moves to 1-2 with the victory.