For the second time in four years, the Trinity Western Spartans women's basketball team has tapped into the Prince George high school talent pool.
The Spartans announced this week that Jenna Van Delft, a Grade 12 shooting guard for the Cedars Christian Eagles has signed a letter of intent to play next season for the Spartans.
The five-foot-seven Van Delft is one of the key players this season for the Eagles, who are coming off a seventh-place finish at last year's single-A provincial championship in Duncan.
“I am very excited to be attending TWU,” said Van Delft, in a TWU release. “The Spartans have an incredible coaching staff with the women’s basketball program and I am looking forward to continuing to study within a Christ-centered approach to education.”
Van Delft is an honours student at Cedars and plans to enroll in the pre-medical program at TWU. She was an all-star in the provincial single-A championship in March and has played the past two years for the under-15 and under-16 provincial club basketball teams.
“We are excited to have another Cedars Christian graduate join our program,” said Spartans head coach Cheryl Jean-Paul.
“Jenna has been developing as an explosive scoring guard and is also an excellent student, which are both characteristics of the complete champions we are developing in our athletics department. She has committed herself to training hard in preparation for her U Sports career and is one of the most competitive athletes I’ve coached in the B.C. provincial team programs over the past several years. We look forward to the competitiveness she will bring to our team along with her high academic standards.”
The Eagles are in action at the Condor Classic playday/tournament, which wraps up Friday at Duchess Park secondary school. Cedars plays the College Heights Cougars tonight at 8:15 p.m., then face the Kelly Road Roadrunners Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Van Delft's signing to play at the highest level in Canada is her reward for the hours of hard work she's put in on the practice court to make herself a better player.
“It is an absolute pleasure to coach a competitor such as Jenna who pushes her teammates and also pushes her coaches,” said Cedars Christian head coach Jeff Ludditt. “Her development over the years has been impressive to witness. I have appreciated being a part of her growth as a player but also as a young Christian. Seeing her roll into the school at 6 a.m. for extra shooting on her own was a lesson in dedication that any player can learn from. I am very proud to help her achieve this goal.”
TWU visited Prince George Nov. 18-19 and came away with two victories over the UNBC Timberwolves, winning 68-61 and 82-81. Gordon, a starting forward, played a major role in both games. She scored 17 points and added seven rebound the first game and was even better in the rematch, contributing 20 points and nine rebounds.
The five-foot-11 Gordon is in her fourth season playing in U Sports/CIS. Through 10 games she's averaged 31.2 minutes of playing time and has contributed an average 11.9 points, 2.4 assists and six rebounds per game. She's been stellar defensively as well with 3.6 turnovers and 1.4 steals per game.
Heading into the Christmas break the Spartans (6-4) are in a playoff position, ranked sixth out of 18 teams in the Canada West Conference.
