Women’s Basketball: Cascades pull away in fourth quarter, complete weekend sweep of UNBC
An explosive fourth quarter lifted the University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball team to a 75-63 victory over the UNBC Timberwolves on Saturday evening at the Envision Athletic Centre.
The Cascades, coming off a dramatic 59-55 triumph on Friday in the opener of the weekend set, found themselves trailing 52-49 heading into the fourth quarter of Saturday’s rematch. But the hosts quickly drained any suspense from the proceedings – they opened the final frame on a 19-2 run and cruised from there.
UFV (4-2) picked up its first weekend sweep of the season after beginning the Canada West campaign with splits vs. the Saskatchewan Huskies and Trinity Western Spartans. The T-Wolves fell to 1-7.
Kayli Sartori had a sparkling all-around performance – the reigning Canada West scoring champ finished just one assist shy of a triple-double, stuffing the stat sheet with 20 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and five steals. Taylor Claggett had a double-double for the second straight night, going for 15 points and 12 boards, and Sara Simovic (12 points) and Shayna Litman (12 points) also contributed offensively for the hosts.
UNBC centre Vasiliki Louka racked up a game-high 22 points, and Eleni Steriopoulou and Maria Mongomo registered 11 points apiece.
“I thought in the third quarter, we really got stagnant at both ends of the floor,” Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer said. “We were really reacting to a lot of things, standing around watching the play. Between quarters, we really talked about getting more active again and being a little bit more assertive, particularly defensively.
“In the fourth quarter, our defence really created some difficult shots for them. They turned the ball over a few times, and we had some players make some big shots.”
The Cascades had fallen behind by 20 points early in the second quarter on Friday before rallying to win, and their start was much better on Saturday. They led 19-16 at the end of the first quarter, and 38-31 at half.
The third quarter, though, belonged to the T-Wolves – they out-scored the Cascades 22-11 in the frame. But UFV wrested control back decisively in the final stanza.
Sartori fell just shy of a triple-double for the second time in 2016. On Feb. 6, she was one rebound short (19 points, 10 assists, nine boards) in a win over UBC Okanagan.
“Kayli does so much for our squad – probably at this point, maybe a little bit too much,” Tuchscherer said of his fifth-year guard/forward, a U Sports second team All-Canadian last season. “She’s our primary ball handler at times, our playmaker, and then we ask her to score a little bit and defend a little bit. She’s got a big role on our team, and she usually comes through for us.”
The Cascades wrap up the fall semester with road games vs. the Brandon Bobcats on Friday and Saturday. The Timberwolves host the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, also a Friday-Saturday set.
Men’s Basketball: MacKay, T-Wolves fend off Cascades
The UNBC Timberwolves weathered a fourth-quarter rally from the UFV Cascades, pulling away late for a 76-70 victory in Canada West men’s basketball action at the Envision Athletic Centre.
Marcus MacKay led the way as the Timberwolves evened their conference record at 4-4. The fourth-year guard from Terrace, B.C. counted a trio of three-pointers among his game-high 26 points.
Manny Dulay replied with 22 for the Cascades (2-4), going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc.
The Timberwolves, coming off a 66-63 win over the Cascades on Friday, had a strong start – they scored the first six points of the game, and reeled off an 11-0 run midway through the second quarter to build a 14-point cushion (31-17).
UFV responded with a 9-0 run to end the second quarter, with Dulay accounting for eight of those points, to cut the deficit to 37-32 at the break.
The Cascades stayed within striking distance throughout the second half, and the hosts back to within one point (65-64) after Vijay Dhillon drained a jump shot with just over five minutes left in regulation.
But the Cascades’ offence came up dry down the stretch, and UNBC never surrendered the lead. Tyrell Laing made a pair of key plays inside of two minutes remaining, hitting an acrobatic layup followed by a steal which led to a pair of free throws by MacKay to push the T-Wolves’ lead to 74-67 with 47 seconds remaining.
It was the fourth straight victory for UNBC, who wrap up the fall semester with a pair of home games next weekend vs. the Thompson Rivers WolfPack. The Cascades hit the road to face the Brandon Bobcats in a Friday-Saturday set.
Gilchrist (11 points) and Mark Johnson (10 points) both scored in double figures for the Cascades, and Denver Sparks-Guest registered seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds off the bench.
Vaggelis Loukas (13 points, 14 boards), James Agyeman (11 points, seven assists) and Laing (10 points) joined MacKay in double figures for the T-Wolves.
Women’s Volleyball: Cascades blitz Avalanche in three sets
The University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team picked up a big win over the College of the Rockies Avalanche on Saturday evening, prevailing in straight sets at the Envision Athletic Centre.
The Cascades came out of their bye week on fire, leading by as many as 13 points in the first set before closing it out by a score of 25-18. They wrapped up the victory in efficient fashion, winning the second and third sets 25-17 and 25-22, respectively.
The result allowed the Cascades (3-7) to inch ahead of the Avalanche (3-8) to take over fifth place in the PACWEST conference.
The two teams clash again on Sunday in a rare morning start (11 a.m., Envision Athletic Centre) to accommodate the Avalanche’s long drive back to Cranbrook.
“When you have two weeks between games, it’s about how you’re going to come out,” UFV head coach Mike Gilray noted. “It can be nice because you’re rested, or it can be tough because you’re rusty.”
In the Cascades’ case, the time off was to their benefit. They raced out to a 24-11 lead in the first set before giving up a seven-point run to the Avalanche, but they got the final point to seal the set and forged ahead from there.
Rachel Funk led the way offensively with 11 kills, fellow left side Kim Bauder had eight kills, and right side Cassidy Pearson chipped in with seven. Pearson, making her first start as a Cascade, hit a sizzling 47 per cent.
“Cassidy gave us some balance on the right side, and the games where we’ve played our best we’ve been balanced offensively,” Gilray noted. “She gave us a real consistent game from that side, earning us multiple points per game with no errors.”
Bauder had a team-high 15 digs, while libero Amy Davidson had 13 digs with an impressive 2.7 rating on her passes.
Men’s Volleyball: Cascades stay perfect at home, defeat Avalanche in four sets
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team continued its dominance at the Envision Athletic Centre, dispatching the College of the Rockies Avalanche in four sets on Saturday evening.
The Cascades, ranked No. 8 in the nation, improved to 7-0 at home and 8-2 overall, good for second place in the PACWEST. The fourth-place Avalanche fell to 5-6.
The two teams renew hostilities on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m., Envision Athletic Centre).
The Cascades won the first two sets in decisive fashion, 25-13 and 25-15, but COTR clawed out a 28-26 triumph in the third to extend the match. UFV got back on track in the fourth and got the winning point on a solo block by setter Adam Frederickson.
“The first two sets, we were really solid – I didn’t think they had much of a push-back,” Cascades head coach Kyle Donen analyzed. “Maybe they lulled us to sleep a little bit. We had an early lead in the third set, too, we just let them back in, which we can’t do.
“We were definitely solid in those first two sets, and then when they finally started to play, we didn’t quite respond right away. . . . We need to be a little bit smarter, a little more consistent throughout the set. If we can maintain that consistency, I think we can be better tomorrow.”
The Cascades got a huge game from Dayton Pagliericci – the third-year middle racked up a team-leading 14 kills on just 16 attempts, and his four blocks were tied with Frederickson for team-high honours.
Right side Joel Kleingeltink chipped in with 11 kills, and left side Matt Whittall notched 10.
