The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women’s basketball team’s unbeaten run to open the Canada West season continued this weekend with wins over the UBCO Heat in Abbotsford on Friday (Nov. 17) and Saturday (Nov. 18).
The women are now at a perfect 6-0 and have won every game by 20 points or more.
Friday’s game continued the Cascades trend of starting off games red-hot, as they jumped out to a 25-11 lead over the Heat after one quarter. UFV led 43-27 at halftime and outscored the Heat 18-7 in the third quarter to cruise to a 76-49 win.
Cascades guard Maddy Gobeil had another excellent game, with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Julia Tuchscherer added 17 and six, while Bernie Leda added 16 and six. The Cascades shot 50 per cent from the field and outscored the Heat 40-20 in points in the paint.
“We’ve been emphasizing bringing out energy and having that good start,” Leda said after the game. “I think a lot of it is in our pregame prep and our warmup. We worked a lot on our fitness over the summer, so pushing that ball and getting those easy transition buckets is something that we’re really aiming to do.”
Another big start to the game saw the Cascades go up 22-12 in the first quarter on Saturday and earned an 87-59 win. UFV ran away with the game in the third, outscoring the Heat 28-17.
Tuchscherer scored a team-high 17 points, with Google Sidhu adding 13. Marijke Duralia had strong game off the bench, with 14 points and a six rebounds. UFV again shot 50 per cent from the field and the bench outscored UBCO’s bench 35-13.
“When I come off the bench the goal is just to help the team as much as I can, whether that’s points like tonight, or rebounds, or just solid defence,” Duralia said. “When you have teammates that believe in you and keep feeding you the ball, even if you have a couple misses, it helps your confidence for sure.”
It was a similar story for the men, as they also swept the Heat and improves to a 3-3 record on the season.
The men opened up a 27-16 lead after one on Friday and led by as many as 15 in the fourth, but that lead nearly evaporated. However, the team held on for the 83-80 win.
Dylan Kinley scored a team-high 17 points to go with seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. The Cascades also got strong contributions off the bench from Arpan Singh and Matthias Klim, who each scored 16 points and shot a combined 65 per cent from the field.
“It feels great to get my touch back,” Klim said. “Being able to step-back and hit those shots it feels amazing. I just have to let the way I practice dictate the way I play during these games, so I have to come in every day with the same intensity and the benefits will show.”
The Heat again battled back in fourth quarter on Saturday, but the Cascades again held on for a 90-83 win.
Dario Lopez poured in 28 points and eight rebounds, while Kinley added 21 points and 10 boards.
The Cascades excelled on the fast break, outscoring the Heat 30-16.
“I feel like the key for us is the defence,” Lopez stated. “When we can get stops, control the rebounds, and run, we really get into our game, and no one can stop us there.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams next head to Regina to take on the Cougars for games on Friday (Nov. 24) and Saturday (Nov. 25). Those will be the final games of 2023 for the teams. The next home games occur on Jan. 19 and 20 when Alberta comes to Abbotsford.
