Three wins over two top-10 teams: TWU basketball's opening weekend
Trinity Western's women went 2-0, including their first win over UBC since 2021, and the men beat the No. 1-ranked Victoria Vikes 84-73 at the Langley Events Centre. Both teams host UFV on Thursday, November 5.
- Next home games
- Thursday, November 5 at the Langley Events Centre, 7888 200 Street: women vs UFV Cascades at 6 pm, men vs UFV at 8 pm
- Records
- Women 2-0, men 1-1 in Canada West play after the opening weekend
- Watch
- In person (tickets through the Spartans tickets page) or streamed on CanadaWest.tv
The last time Trinity Western’s women beat UBC, it was December 2021. The last time the men beat Victoria, it was January 2024. Both streaks ended inside three days.
The women: 2-0, and a 10-game streak snapped
Thursday night at War Memorial Gym, the Spartans beat the U SPORTS No. 8 Thunderbirds 76-67. They trailed 61-56 early in the fourth quarter, then went on a 13-0 run and held UBC without a basket for more than six minutes. Cassidy Buchanan, a fifth-year guard from Aldergrove, had 19 points and a career-high seven steals; Myrlaine Shelvey, the fifth-year guard from Langley, added 15 points and five steals without a turnover. It was TWU’s first win over UBC in ten tries and only its eighth ever against them.
Saturday’s home opener against Victoria was less dramatic and more thorough: a 72-56 win built on a 54-36 edge on the glass. Buchanan scored 23. Blessing Ibekwe pulled down 17 rebounds, two short of the program record, with 10 points for her first career double-double.
The men: a near miss, then the No. 1 team
The men’s Thursday opener at UBC was a three-point loss, 79-76, with 13 lead changes and a half-court heave at the buzzer that didn’t drop. Tyus DeVries scored 29.
Two nights later at the Langley Events Centre they beat the top-ranked team in the country. Victoria tied it 56-56 heading into the fourth, and 68-68 with just over five minutes left, before DeVries and Marcus Shankar (21 points each) and Pearse Long hit the shots that made it 84-73. TWU shot 60 percent in the final quarter and held the Vikes to 27 percent. Logan Stewart, a second-year guard from Langley, had a dunk in the second quarter. Head coach Trevor Pridie called it a big night for the program and said playing NCAA Division I teams over the summer showed the group it could compete at this level.
Thursday at the LEC
Both teams are back at home on Thursday, November 5 against the Fraser Valley Cascades from Abbotsford: women at 6 pm, men at 8 pm. The Cascades are the Spartans’ nearest Canada West neighbours, so it’s the closest thing to a derby on the schedule. More on the teams, the venue and parking: Trinity Western Spartans and the Langley Events Centre.