The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women’s basketball team ran their win streak to six games over the weekend, with a pair of wins over the Victoria Vikes on Friday (Feb. 18) and Saturday (Feb. 19) in Abbotsford.
The Cascades led from start to finish on Saturday, opening up a 34-21 lead at half and posting a 71-57 win.
The duo of Deanna Tuchscherer and Maddy Gobeil produced 19 and 17 points respectively and combined shot 54.5 per cent (12 for 22). Gobeil also added a team-high seven assists. UFV’s Natalie Rathler also had a solid game with 12 points, five rebounds and four steals.
Saturday marked the final home game for seniors Alexis Worrell and Victoria Jacobse. Worrell collected five points and three rebounds, while Jacobse had a team-high seven rebounds to go with eight points.
“It was a great game for us in general — we learned so much out of it, and it was awesome to pull off a win on our Senior Night.”
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) February 20, 2022
Cascades WBB’s Alexis Worrell & Victoria Jacobse on a memorable evening vs. UVic#WeClimbWeConquer pic.twitter.com/Vq80pNQabK
Women’s head coach Al Tuchscherer said it was a good win on Saturday and an encouraging weekend.
“I like the progress we’re making,” he said. “I like that we’re getting better every weekend, and hopefully this upcoming week against UNBC we’re playing some good basketball as well.”
Friday’s game wasn’t really close, as the Cascades crushed the Vikes 71-44.
UFV held Victoria to just 25 per cent shooting and the Vikes made just six field goals in the second half.
Gobeil recorded 20 points, four steals and three rebounds, while Tuchscherer had a double-double with 20 points and 10 boards. Tuchscherer also collected three blocks and six assists.
🏀 WBB | @deannamae462 with the dagger from beyond the arc!#GoCascades pic.twitter.com/pBErwKKDFP
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) February 20, 2022
Turnovers were also a bright spot for the Cascades on Friday, as they only coughed up the ball 11 times.
The women close out the season in Prince George to take on the UNBC Timberwolves on Wednesday (Feb. 23) and Thursday (Feb. 24). The club’s 14-2 record will also give them a high seed heading into the playoffs, which begin in March. One win against UNBC will clinch the Cascades the Canada West’s West Division title.
The team also discovered on Tuesday (Feb. 22) that they cracked the top ten national U Sports rankings and sit in seventh in the most recent list.
The @UFVCascades WBB have cracked the top ten for @USPORTSca. The women (14-2) have won six straight and could win a division title for the first time since 2014 with a win in Prince George against @UNBCATHLETICS on Wednesday or Thursday. pic.twitter.com/AJfYmDOeIj
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) February 22, 2022
The men wrapped up the CW regular season with games against the Vikes on Friday (Feb. 18) and Saturday (Feb. 19), but couldn’t match the offensive prowess of Victoria.
UFV lost 107-67 on Friday and then fell 86-55 on Saturday.
The Vikes shot a scorching 51.3 per cent and 54.8 per cent from beyond the arc on Friday and outscored the Cascades 56-22 at halftime. Victoria’s Diego Maffia led all players with 26 points. UFV was led by Jamar Ergas, who recorded 14 points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench.
“That’s a team that could compete for a national championship, and probably will,” Cascades head coach Joe Enevoldson said of the Vikes.”When they shoot 17-for-31 from three, and from multiple people, they’re as good as any team in the country. In order to compete with the best teams in the country, you’ve got to bring your A-plus game, and we definitely didn’t.”
Saturday saw another slow start for the Cascades, as they trailed 26-4 after one and were unable to battle back. UFV shot just 28.8 per cent in the loss. Dylan Kinley led the Cascades with 12 points and nine rebounds.
“We knew UVic was a very good basketball team coming in, and we knew it was going to be tough,” Cascades head coach Joe Enevoldson said. “Ultimately we competed for 25 of the 80 minutes this weekend – the middle third of the game today. We’re going to have to compete for 40 minutes straight if we’re going to make noise in the playoffs.”
Despite the loss, it was a memorable day for UFV guard Vick Toor who established a new team record for career assists with 307. He passed Cascades legend Manny Dulay, who previously held the mark of 306.
🏀 MBB | @ToorVick picks up his 307th career assist to set a new Cascades MBB all-time record, surpassing @XV_academy's previous record of 306! 🎉 🎉 🎉
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) February 20, 2022
And how sweet is it that it comes on a triple from his friend @jsekhon23?! 😭💚#WeClimbWeConquer pic.twitter.com/hRiCOYtlyn
Saturday also marked the final home games for Toor and W.J. Mouat Secondary grad Jordyn Sekhon. Both Toor and Sekhon have been standouts for the men’s team for a number of years and will hang up the Cascades jersey at the end of this season.
“It was a day to soak it all in.”@ToorVick & @jsekhon23 reflect on Senior Day, this weekend’s games vs UVic, and on combining for a record-breaking play.#WeClimbWeConquer pic.twitter.com/a80xtuQGbv
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) February 20, 2022
The pair of losses ends the men’s regular season record at 9-9 and they finished in third place in CW’s West Division. They will be heading to the playoffs, but still have to wait for final standings and seedings.
