Women’s Basketball: Hot start sparks Cascades to 25-point triumph over Heat
The University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball team raced out to a 19-5 lead at the end of the first quarter on Friday in Kelowna, igniting a 73-48 blowout win over the UBC Okanagan Heat.
Taylor Claggett paced the Cascades with 18 points and nine rebounds, Abby Zawada shot 5-for-9 from beyond the arc on her way to 17 points, and Veronica Kobes posted career-highs for points (10) and rebounds (eight) as the UFV squad improved to 6-5.
Vanessa Botteselle scored 12 points and Jordan Korol registered eight points and 10 boards for the host Heat, who fell to 0-11.
The two teams wrap up their first-semester schedules with a Saturday rematch in Kelowna (5 p.m., CanadaWest.tv).
“Early in the first quarter, we were getting some pretty good shots but they weren’t falling,” Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer said. “I just encouraged the girls to keep pushing the ball and moving the ball, and later in the quarter we got some buckets that kind of broke the game open.
“We slowed down a bit in the second quarter, but we regrouped at halftime, and I thought the girls had really good energy in the third and into the fourth. We got everybody into the game, and it was a good team effort.”
The Cascades opened the game on an 8-0 run, but it took five and a half minutes for that run to materialize – the UFV defence was airtight, but the offence was slower to ignite. But behind the play of Claggett, who had eight points in the quarter, the Cascades found some traction and built a 19-5 edge at the end of the first.
The Heat outscored UFV 12-10 in the second, but the Cascades re-extended the lead in the third, and the result was never in doubt in the fourth.
Amanda Thompson (nine points) and Natalie Rathler (seven points) also chipped in offensively for the Cascades.
The career-best production from Kobes, the Cascades’ 6’2” third-year centre, was a real highlight.
“Veronica was given an opportunity in the first quarter, and she kept a couple possessions alive for us,” Tuchscherer noted. “She built on that for the rest of the night, and it was nice to see it pay off with some points tonight. She had a really good game.”
Men’s Basketball: Cascades ride balanced attack to victory over UBCO
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team ran its win streak to six games in decisive fashion, defeating the UBC Okanagan Heat 92-62 in Kelowna on Friday evening.
The Cascades’ prolific offensive output was achieved in incredibly balanced fashion. Just three players scored in double figures – Mark Johnson and Andrew Morris with 16 points apiece, and Jordyn Sekhon with 10 off the bench – but all 12 players hit the scoresheet as UFV improved to 7-4 in Canada West play.
Triston Matthews replied with 15 points for the Heat (5-6), who take another crack at the Cascades on Saturday (7 p.m., CanadaWest.tv).
“The guys moved the basketball, and it was nice to see everyone being a threat out there,” UFV head coach Adam Friesen said. “Everyone was looking to score, but only when the good opportunities arose.
“If we could shoot the three-pointer a little bit better (the Cascades were 13-of-37 on Friday), that would be the last thing that would be nice to see offensively.”
The UFV squad was dynamite at both ends of the floor in the first quarter, racing out to a 27-11 lead after 10 minutes. Triples by Sukhjot Bains and Johnson bookended a game-opening 10-2 run, and back-to-back treys from Sukhman Sandhu expanded the lead to 20-5 midway through the frame.
The Cascades pushed the lead to 20 points (44-24) at the half, and they cruised from there, on their way to their largest margin of victory this season.
Defensively, UFV limited the Heat to 38.7 per cent shooting from the field, including 8-of-26 from beyond the arc.
“The thing that I was most pleased about was, we really wanted to guard the three-point line well on their main players, and I thought we did that fairly well tonight,” Friesen said. “We know the three-point shot is a big part of their attack, and slowing that down takes a lot of discipline and hard work, but the boys were up for the challenge today.”
The Cascades got terrific play from their point guard duo of Vick Toor and Parm Bains; they combined for 18 points (nine apiece), nine assists, eight rebounds, and – most crucially – zero turnovers. Sandhu also scored nine for UFV, and Sukhjot Bains hauled down a team-high eight rebounds as the Cascades out-boarded UBCO 45-36.
Aldrich Berrios (11 points) and Jacob Stokker (10) joined Matthews in double figures for the Heat.
