The UFV women's basketball team saw its season come to an end with a 75-69 loss to the host Ottawa Gee-Gees in the semifinals of the CIS East Regional last Friday.
The Cascades needed to win their four-team bracket to ensure a spot at the national championships in Calgary this weekend. They fell short, and then finished second to the Saskatchewan Huskies in the selection process for the lone wildcard berth.
UFV battled the Ontario champion Gee-Gees down to the wire, but Ottawa hung on down the stretch.
"I was pretty happy with the girls," head coach Al Tuchscherer said. "We're just not quite in that top-five level right now. We're not quite experienced enough, but we're getting there – we're real close. We battled and we were gritty, but they were a little savvier than us."
Rookie forward Kayli Sartori led the Cascades with 15 points and seven assists, while Tessa Klassen scored 14 and Aieisha Luyken and Nicole Wierks notched 11 apiece.
UFV loses just one player – fifth-year guard Klassen – to graduation, and there's plenty of reason for optimism going forward. Veteran guard Tessa Hart and rookies-to-be Sydney Schepikoff and Katie Brink are set to return to the lineup after missing all of last season due to injury.