KAMLOOPS – They jumped out to a lead in the first quarter but the Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's basketball team was unable to sustain that momentum in an 83-67 loss to the UNBC Timberwolves in Prince George.
 
TRU was led by their veterans in the game with Megan Rouault and Kelsey Cruz both scoring 13 points on the night.  Makeba Taylor tallied nine points and seven rebounds while Kamloops local Jaya Saroya continued to improve on her impressive rookie campaign with nine points in 17 minutes of action.
 
In the first quarter, UNBC came out more assertive, with Alina Shakirova getting an early and-one to drop and the Timberwolves hopping out to an early 6-0 lead. However, the pesky WolfPack said not so fast, scoring the next 11 points, using buckets from Cruz, Elana Sireni, and  Taylor to gain momentum and take a 16-15 lead after ten minutes.
  
Playing in the final home game of her career, veteran post Olivia Wilson played inspired in the second frame, crashing the offensive glass and earning tough second-chance points for the TWolves. TRU continued to keep pace, however, with Cruz and Taylor each splashing from long range, and Saroya giving them five valuable points off the bench. When the buzzer sounded, the TWolves held a 36-28 advantage.
 
In the third quarter, the Timberwolves offence woke up. More specifically, Sveta Boykova got going. The Russian forward made three triples, while Rebecca Landry, Jenna Korolek, and Shakirova each got tough buckets in the paint to go, as the WolfPack had little answer for the UNBC barrage. The TWolves won the quarter 31-19 thanks to 15 points from Boykova, and held a 67-47 lead with one quarter to play. 
 
Protecting a 20-point lead in the final frame, UNBC looked to escape the NSC with a victory on senior night. Every time the Pack would get a bucket from Rouault or Maggie Fehr, UNBC would respond with a run of points from Shakirova, Laura Garmendia Garcia, or Kuklisin. 
 
Eventually, the clock would run out on the visitors from Kamloops, as UNBC secured an 87-63 victory to earn the weekend split and improve their Canada West playoff hopes.
 
The WolfPack will now return to Kamloops and get set for their final regular season games of the season when they host the Manitoba Bisons inside the TCC February 10-11.