Trinity Western women closing in on franchise record

Two wins this weekend would vault the Trinity Western Spartans in the standings and set a school record for victories in a Canada West season by the women’s basketball team.

A sweep in Saskatoon isn’t easy to come by, though.

Trinity Western carries an 11-3 mark into a weekend showdown with the Saskatchewan Huskies (131). With three doubleheader weekends left in the regular season, only the Huskies and the Regina Cougars (13-1) have better records than the Spartans.

The playoff matchups in the 17-team loop are determined by ratings percentage index (RPI), a formula that takes into account strength of schedule. Trinity Western (.6156) is third there as well, trailing Saskatchewan (.6488) and Regina (.6483).

Trinity Western posted its best record in Canada West last season when they went 12-8. They also won a playoff series for the first time. Trinity Western moved into the league in the 1999-2000 season.

Saskatchewan is 16-3 all-time versus Trinity Western and the Spartans have never beaten the Huskies in Saskatoon.

Saskatchewan is ranked sixth in the U Sports national poll. Regina is third.

The Spartans, under coach Cheryl Jean-Paul, are eighth in the conference in scoring (70.5 points per game) and eighth in defence (65). They are second in the league in rebounding (44.2 per game).

Trinity Western hosts the Thompson Rivers WolfPack (7-9) next weekend, then closes off league play with a visit to Edmonton’s MacEwan Griffins (4-10) Feb. 2-3.

The top-12 teams in points make the playoffs, which are seeded according to RPI.

The UBC Thunderbirds (6-8) are tied for 11th overall in points. Coach Deb Huband’s crew plays host to MacEwan on Friday (1 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m.) at War Memorial Gym.

UBC is eighth in RPI (.5305). They do feature the conference’s second-leading scorer in guard Maddison Penn (19 points per game), who trails only Winnipeg Wesmen guard Antoinette Miller (25.6).

Meanwhile, on the Canada West men’s side, UBC (11-3) plays host to MacEwan (4-10) on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (7 p.m.) at War Memorial Gym, as they look to keep pace with the Alberta Golden Bears (131) and the Calgary Dinos (11-3) at the top of the standings.

Alberta is at the Mount Royal Cougars (7-7) for a pair, while Calgary hosts the UBC Okanagan Heat (2-12) in a twin bill.

The T-Birds (.6134) are third in RPI, chasing Alberta (.6433) and Calgary (.6209).

Alberta is third in the U Sports national poll, while Calgary is fourth and UBC is sixth.

UBC forward Conor Morgan leads Canada West in scoring (25.3 points per game) and rebounding (11.1 per game). He’s third in both those categories nationally.

Meanwhile, in NCAA Division II men’s basketball action, the Simon Fraser University Clan carried a 2-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference record into a visit Thursday to the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (3-5). They’re at the Alaska Nanooks (5-3) on Saturday.

The SFU women carried a 3-5 GNAC mark into a Thursday visit to the Central Washington Wildcats (4-4). SFU is at the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks (6-2) on Saturday.