When the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades have to search for energy, leadership and lock down defence, they use Google – Google Sidhu, that is.
The W.J. Mouat Secondary grad is in the midst of a breakout season in her third year and averaging Canada West career highs in points, field goal percentage, rebounds and assists.
Sidhu has worked her way into the starting lineup several times, but has also developed into a tool that the Cascades can use off the bench to increase intensity on both sides of the ball and create headaches for the opposition.
Hear from @UFVCascades guard Google Sidhu after her 13 point, 4 assist performance in UFV's win over UNBC pic.twitter.com/HbI7e2y7eR
— UNBC Timberwolves (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 5, 2023
She’s been a big part of the team’s 7-1 start to close out the 2023 calendar and said that being a part of the Cascades women’s basketball program was something she chased growing up.
“It was always a dream of mine to play at UFV,” Sidhu said. “I was always in awe when I saw how UFV played, how the coaches coached and just the types of people their players were off the court. It’s a great culture and I loved the system and what they built.”
The only problem was that longtime Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer wasn’t certain that Sidhu would be a fit. He had coached Sidhu’s older sister Herleen, and noticed her energy when she played in the local club system. He was also aware of some of the impressive statistics that she put up with the Mouat Hawks.
“I always knew she was a dynamic scorer and a great athlete, but I can’t honestly say that we had considered her to be part of our program,” he recalled. “I wasn’t convinced her game would translate to our level. Google is one of those that I’m just so fortunate that she wanted to be a Cascade quite desperately and things just fell into place for both of us.”
Tuchscherer said that Mike Claggett, Sidhu’s coach with the Hawks, insisted that he take a chance on the graduating player. That persistence paid off, as everything was uncertain with COVID-19 and Tuchscherer decided to take a gamble on the local talent.
🏀 WBB | We're underway at the UFV Athletic Centre, and the Cascades are off to a nice lead after this Google Sidhu triple! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/wWCCpi8EAE
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) November 13, 2021
“Recruiting can be a really interesting thing sometimes,” he said. “Sometimes it works out, unfortunately sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it’s just dumb luck. Immediately you could tell she was someone we wanted in our program. Always played with determination, made connections with everyone, and you could tell she loved being there.”
Sidhu said the pandemic caused for a lot of delays and challenges for the team and the sport, but when things returned to normalcy she knew she had to prove to Tuchscherer and the team that she belonged in order to earn playing time.
“I was definitely nervous coming in,” she said of her early years. “I did have the feeling that I wasn’t really recruited. But I knew I hadto work hard and push myself to another level in practice. I would just put my head down and work. I think he did start to trust me and point out how hard I worked on defence. Al is super passionate about the game and our relationship has developed. I like the way he coaches and the culture he has built here at UFV, but I’m also so grateful that Mike pushed him to put me on board.”
Sidhu arrived to the program as a star athlete at Mouat, excelling in both basketball, rugby and volleyball. She was also the Mouat female athlete of the year for her Grade all four years she was there.
She said the name “Google” was attached to her at a young age and was originally a nickname her family gave her as a baby because she had big eyes – nothing to do with the popular search engine. She said it just stuck with her.
“I was super embarrassed about it at first,” she said, noting her birth name is Gurveer. “But I think in Grade 6 I was playing on a team with my sister and she called me it and her friends did too. Then everyone started saying it and even teachers called me it. But now I kind of like it.”
Sidhu said one of the reasons why she has developed so quickly at the CW level is the way UFV practises and competes and one of the main people driving that is Canada West first team all-star Maddy Gobeil. Sidhu said they go at each other hard in practice and it has made her a better player.
“My goal every practice is to make her frustrated as I can,” she said, with a laugh. “I love it and she does get frustrated, but we have that relationship where we kill each other in practice but as soon as we’re off the court we’re best friends. We have a lot of respect for each other.”
Gobeil said that Sidhu has grown so much year-over-year and that she considers her one of the best teammates she’s ever had. She said Sidhu’s leadership has been a big boost this season and she is an important part of the team. She agreed that they battle hard in practice, but that it makes them both better players.
“Google can be a pest on the defensive end and we usually get after each other in practice,” Gobeil said. “We both compete extremely hard every practice and frustrate each other. I’m so grateful to have a player like Google be a menace when she guards me and competing against her has helped me grow both physically and mentally as a player.”
Tuchscherer said her work in the gym, the classroom and locker room are transforming Sidhu into an important part of the team on and off the court.
“She works on her game every day,” he said. “She is in the weight room and is so much stronger than her first couple of years. She works on her skills daily and has become such an important piece for us on the court. Her best work however, is her behind the scenes leadership. She is a natural leader, every player on our team knows Google has their back. The coaches know she is going to work tirelessly to do anything to make our team the best it can been.”
RELATED: Abbotsford hosting 2024 Canada West women’s basketball tournament
The spotlight is also set to shine even brighter on the Cascades women’s basketball team next month when UFV hosts the 2024 Canada West women’s basketball championships. The top-12 women’s teams in the country will be coming to Abbotsford and Sidhu expects the team to use home court to their advantage.
“Come out, come watch us play and we will show you what we mean by it’s our home court,” she said of the tournament, which runs from Feb. 21 to 25. “And I’m excited for the younger female athletes to come out and watch and see what we’re doing. I hope we can keep making an impact on them and influencing younger players in the right way.”
The women return to action this weekend with games against the TRU Wolfpack on Friday (Jan. 5) and Saturday (Jan. 6). The team’s next home game occurs on Jan. 19 when they host Alberta.
For more visit, gocascades.ca.