After graduating five players from their national bronze medal-winning team, the University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball program has reeled in a trio of new recruits for the coming season.
Chantel Ewert, Danielle Vanbergen and Jenika Bannerman comprise the 2014-15 freshman class for the Cascades.
Ewert is a 6’2” guard/forward who recently completed her senior year at Terry Fox Secondary in Port Coquitlam. She’s an alum of the Junior Cascades club program and the B.C. provincial team, and UFV head coach Al Tuchscherer called her “a very skilled basketball player with a unique skill set.
“You typically don’t see someone with her length have the skills and mindset to be a guard,” he said.
“She is a fantastic shooter, a great ball handler, and has a great understanding of the game. We first met Chantel back when she was in Grade 6 and all our coaches have been fans ever since.”
Vanbergen is a 5’7” guard out of Mark Isfeld Secondary in Courtenay.
“We don’t typically recruit in Courtenay, but people felt so strongly that she needed to be a Cascade that our coaches went out of their way to take a look,” Tuchscherer said.
“We quickly became fans of her game and her attitude towards the game; we knew that she would be a perfect fit for us.
“Her game is creative and she can score in a variety of different ways.”
Bannerman, a 5’11” guard from Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Secondary, is a longtime Junior Cascade.
“She had a number of options coming out of G.W. Graham, and we are thrilled to have her,” Tuchscherer said.
“She is a fantastic athlete who played several sports at a high level right up until her senior year. We feel that she has just begun to realize her potential as a basketball player and the sky is the limit for her when you combine that with the work ethic she has shown since joining our program. She is already an elite defender and has a potent inside/outside offensive game.”