BB: Fransson, Maffia close out 2021 in style

VANCOUVER - Trinity Western's Nicole Fransson and Victoria's Diego Maffia were named Canada West Basketball Players of the Week by the conference on Tuesday.

Fransson posted back-to-back double-double's for the Spartans, while Maffia led the Vikes charge in a pair of wins to close out 2021.

Fransson opened the weekend with 19 points and 13 rebounds in Trinity Western's 75-52 win over UBC on the road in Vancouver on Friday night. The Edmonton, Alta. native added five blocks defensively for the Spartans.

On Saturday, the third-year forward scored 17 of her 25 points in the second half as the Spartans won their sixth-straight contest. Fransson racked up 18 rebounds in the win and finished just three assists shy of a triple-double, with seven.

Fransson will move forward as the conference's nominee for U SPORTS Athlete of the Week.

The Spartans (6-0) will pick up conference play again in 2022 with a weekend series in Kamloops against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack (1-7) January 7-8.

Game log:
Dec. 3: 19 pts, 13 rebs, 5 blks, 2 asts in 75-52 W at UBC
Dec. 4: 25 pts, 18 rebs, 7 asts, 1 blk, 1 stl in 68-61 OT W at UBC

Diego Maffia continued with his strong scoring touch to start the season, accounting for 40 points in the Vikes weekend sweep of UNBC.

Maffia, who is third in conference scoring at 20.4 points per game, scored 15 points on Friday night and came just shy of a triple-double with eight rebounds and seven assists in the Vikes' 83-49 win.

On Saturday, the second-year guard from Victoria led offence for the Vikes with 25 points.

The Vikes (7-1) hit the break in second-place in the West Division standings and will resume conference play with a weekend trip against the UNBC Timberwolves (2-6) and UBC Okanagan Heat (1-7) January 14 and 16.

Game log:
Dec. 3: 15 pts, 8 rebs, 7 asts, 2 stls in 83-49 W vs UNBC
Dec. 4: 25 pts 6 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl in 92-72 W vs UNBC