Friday night in Langley the UNBC Timberwolves (4-13) kicked off their weekend with a hard-fought, back-and-forth 70-63 setback at the hands of the Trinity Western Spartans (9-8). For UNBC the Russian tandem of Sveta Boykova (24 points) and Viktoriia Filatova (23 points) did a majority of the offensively damage. Boykova was dominant on the defensive end too grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds while racking up three steals and a pair of blocks. Collette Van der Hoven paced the Spartans attack with 18 points while Blessing Ibekwe grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds. Four Spartans (Van der Hoven, Ibekwe, Cassidy Buchanan and Shemaiah Abatayo) all finished in double digits in scoring.

The score was deadlocked at 19-19 after one. Boykova got off to a roaring start for UNBC, pacing the visitors with seven points (3/5 shooting). She added two blocks, and with UNBC down 17-9, it was a series of back-to-back buckets from Boykova that helped put UNBC closer to even. The glaring stat of the first quarter for Trinity Western were the five rebounds for Ibekwe. Van der Hoven led the Spartans with five first-quarter points.

The first four minutes of the second quarter were a struggle for both teams, as they combined for just five points in the first three minutes and 51 seconds, and all of them came by way of the free-throw. Eventually shots started to fall for both sides. Boykova's lone bucket of the second was part of an 'And 1' sequence and resulted in a 28-26 lead for UNBC. The Spartans though kept things close and snatched their lead back on a buzzer-beating long two from Savannah Vander Kooi.

At half the score showed 32-30 for the hosts, but the game's leading scorer at that point was Boykova who had 12 points along with three steals, two boards, and two blocks. Trinity Western's leader at both ends of the floor was Ibekwe who had eight points (4/4 shooting) while snagging a game-high five rebounds.

Boykova put forth a monster third quarter for the TWolves offensively as she added 10 more to her totals, giving her a game-high 22 through three. But Boykova's big effort came against the biggest push of the night from Trinity Western, who outscored the TWolves 19-13. The tandem of Van der Hoven (8) and Cassidy Buchanan (5) combined for 13 as the Spartans led 51-43 after three.

The TWolves kept it interesting in the final quarter, due in large part to the spectacular offensive efforts from Filatova. The second-year guard hit five fourth-quarter field-goals, including a pair of threes en route to a 14-point performance. It was almost enough to bridge the gap. Unfortunately for the TWolves the trio of Jazmin Avila, Shemaiah Abatayo and Van der Hoven each grabbed five points of their own, and the Spartans ended up holding on for a 70-63 victory.

The two sides will meet again tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 pm. That game will serve as the final road contest of the season for the UNBC Timberwolves Women.