LANGLEY, British Columbia – After a back-and-forth first three quarters, the UNBC Timberwolves outscored the Trinity Western women’s basketball team 21-14 in the final frame as they pulled away down the stretch to earn a 67-61 win Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
 
The Spartans (1-4) led 47-46 after the third quarter, but turnovers and a hot-shooting Timberwolves side (2-3) allowed the visitors to take over in the final frame to pick up their second win of the year.
 
UNBC took a 10-point lead with just under three minutes to play in the fourth after a Mercedes VanKoughnett 3-pointer and from there, the visitors cruised to the win.
 
VanKoughnett had 13 fourth quarter points and seven rebounds while Jen Bruce added eight points over the final 10 minutes to lead the Timberwolves to the victory.
 
The Timberwolves finished the game shooting 45.5 per cent from the field while TWU shot just 35.3 per cent. UNBC also outrebounded TWU 49-32.
 
VanKoughnett finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds, six steals and seven assists while Bruce finished with 13 points and four boards.
 
The Spartans were led by Janelle Traber (Abbotsford, B.C.) who had 11 points and three steals while Laurissa Weigl (Stony Plain, Alta.) had nine points, eight rebounds and four steals. The Spartans leading scorer this season, Holly Strom, was held to eight points, but did add eight rebounds.
 
“We did enough to stay ahead in the first three quarters but against a team that can hit big shots in the fourth quarter, that’s not good enough,” said Spartans coach Cheryl Jean-Paul. “I don’t think we saw the best out of our team today. We also turned over the ball a lot more than we typically do and our free throw shooting was again below what I think is an acceptable standard.
 
“To me it’s missed opportunities. It’s some of our key players missing shots that they know they can make. We broke down defensively too many times and a team like UNBC can take advantage of that. It’s not necessarily a fourth-quarter meltdown. It’s not taking opportunities in the first three quarters and that came back to haunt us down the stretch.”
 
The Spartans jumped out to an early 11-5 lead after a Luca Schmidt (Langley) 3-pointer, but UNBC kept it close and by the end of the frame the Timberwolves had climbed back to within one point, at 16-15. Schmidt, on a pair of baskets from beyond the arc, led TWU in scoring with six points while UNBC’s Sarah Robin countered with six points herself to lead the Timberwolves.
 
In second quarter, TWU once again took an early lead, going up by five after a Natalie Carkner (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) 3-pointer gave the Spartans a 27-22 edge. But just the like the opening quarter, UNBC remained within striking distance throughout and got to within one point, at 30-29, inside the final minute. However, a buzzer-beating lay-up from TWU’s Jamie Andrews Stobart (Edmonton) gave the Spartans a 32-29 halftime lead.
 
Schmidt, with another 3-pointer, had nine point to lead TWU at halftime while VanKoughnett had five second-quarter points to lead UNBC at halftime with nine.
 
The Timberwolves opened the second half on a 7-0 run and, after a Bruce 3-pointer, took a 36-32 lead. But the Spartans responded and took a 40-38 lead after a Traber jumper. Then with after UNBC had taken a 46-44 lead following a VanKoughnett 3-pointer, Traber responded at the buzzer with long ball of her own to give TWU a 47-46 lead going to the fourth quarter.
 
UNBC came out in the fourth quarter on a mission, opening a 61-52 lead after a 15-5 run. Then, after a VanKoughnett 3-ball with 2:40 left in the game, UNBC extended its lead to 10 points, at 64-54, and never looked back. From there, UNBC didn’t allow TWU closer than six points.
 
The teams will play the rematch Saturday at 5 p.m. at the LEC.