SPARTANS FACE ALBERTA TEAMS IN HOME OPENER--Lethbridge Pronghorns and Calgary Dinos come to David E.

Canada West Basketball
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Weekend Preview

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPARTANS FACE ALBERTA TEAMS IN HOME OPENER

--Lethbridge Pronghorns and Calgary Dinos come to David E.

LANGLEY, British Columbia- The Trinity Western University Spartans Basketball teams will play their first home games of the 2007-08 season this weekend at the David E. Enarson Gymnasium. Both the men and women will play the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns on Friday and then the University of Calgary Dinos on Saturday night.

The Lethbridge Women (0-2) opened their season at home last weekend with losses to UBC and Victoria. They'll face yet another B.C. team this Friday night in the Spartans, though this time around they will not be playing in front of their home crowd. So far this season the Pronghorns have relied heavily on Candace Thompson (5th year, Forward), who is averaging a double-double at 19.3 pts and ten rebounds per game, with half of her rebounds coming on the offensive glass. Second to Thompson in scoring is Lauren Taal, a freshman guard, who averages nine points per game.

The Calgary Dinos (1-1) are ranked No. 9 in the country after a weekend split that saw them defeat the Victoria Vikes and then lose narrowly to the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds. The Dinos boast five players that average double-figures in scoring, including standout guard Courtney Coyle (4th year, Cranbrook, B.C.), who leads the team with 19 points per game and adds 5.7 rebounds to that total. Guard Ashely Hill (2nd year, Airdrie, Alta.) is the team leader in assists, averaging three per contest, and is second in scoring with 16 points per game. Down low in the post Michelle Wilson (5th year, Red Deer, Alta.) averages 14.7 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game.

The Spartan Women (2-2) will be looking to ride the momentum from a big road win in Brandon last weekend, and will certainly be excited to play in the friendly confines of the David E. after opening the season on a four game road trip. Thus far this season Corina Reimer (2nd year, Abbotsford, B.C.) leads the team in scoring with 13 points per game, to which she adds 6.5 rebounds. The team leader in rebounds is Becky Atkinson (4th year, Delta, B.C.), who pulls down an impressive 7.8 rebounds per contest. Guard Katie Haworth (4th year, Gresham, OR), who hit a game-winning shot in Victoria opening weekend, is second in scoring with nine points per game and is shooting a remarkable 57% from three-point range.

The Lethbridge men's team (0-2) also dropped their opening weekend contests to UBC and Victoria, two of the powerhouse teams in the Canada West. Coming into Langley, the Pronghorns will rely on freshman Quinn Van Gaalen (guard, 12 ppg) and Ryan Anderson (4th year, Forward), with Anderson scoring 11.4 points per game and adding three rebounds per contest. The ‘Horns will need Richard Steed (3rd year, Guard) to work his magic with the basketball, as he is averaging more than four assists per game so far this season.

The Calgary Dinos (2-0) opened some eyes around the Canada West with two wins over Victoria and UBC, both of which were closely contested battles. This weekend the Dinos, who feature four double-digit scorers, will bring their squad to the Enarson to play the Spartans. The team leader in scoring is Henry Bekkering (4th year, Taber, Alta.), who averages 16.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He is flanked by Ross Bekkering (3rd year, Taber, Alta.), who is the team leader in rebounds with 9.7 per game, and who also averages 11 points per game, while Cody Darrah (5th year, Edmonton) adds 12.7 points per game on 44% shooting from three-point range.

The Spartan men (0-4) have faced some tough opponents early in their schedule and will certainly be glad to get back home to play in front of their fans for the first time this season. The Spartans leading scorer is guard Lucas Goltz (3rd year, Comox, B.C.) who has put up an impressive 21.5 points per game so far this season. Goltz is also averaging 6.5 rebounds per game, good enough for second spot on the team. Guard Luke Robinson (5th year, Ahousat, B.C.) is averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and freshman guard Jon Loewen (Abbotsford, B.C.) has pitched in with 11 points and 3.3 rebounds so far thus season. The Spartans are hungry for their first victory of the season, and will be looking to sweep this weekend and get back in the hunt early in the Canada West season.

Game times are 6 p.m. for the women's games and 8 p.m. for the men's.

-TW-

Last Updated: 2008-03-24
Author: Scott Stewart
Email: ssstew@twu.ca