Fraser Valley (Jordie Arthur/Rich Abney UNBC) – Mens Basketball: T-Wolves pull away from Cascades in second half, salvage weekend split
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – The University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team was forced to settle for a weekend split, as the UNBC Timberwolves rode a strong second half to an 88-67 triumph on Saturday night at the UFV Athletic Centre.
The Cascades, coming off a 79-75 victory in the series opener on Friday, picked up where they left off in the rematch, leading for much of the first half.
But the T-Wolves found their flow offensively late in the second quarter, grabbing a 39-32 lead at the break, and they stepped on the gas from there, pulling away down the stretch.
When the dust had settled, both UFV and UNBC exited the weekend with matching 3-3 records.
“We definitely showed some youth in the second half,” Cascades head coach Joe Enevoldson noted. “We’re still a relatively youthful team across the board, and even our fifth-year guy (Courtney Anderson), it’s his first year at this level, right? We showed some inexperience in the second half defensively. Credit to them – Chris Ross hit shots, Micah Jessie got going a little bit in the second half.
“We’re starting to establish an identity in terms of who we are and who we want to be. We don’t do a good job from the three-point line, we don’t do a good job yet at the free throw line, and we’re just leaving too many empty points off the board.
“They (UNBC) were definitely better tonight, but any time you turn the ball over 25 times, it’s really tough to win a basketball game.”
In the early parts of the game, it was the Cascades finding more success offensively, led by Anderson who scored a quick six points to establish a 12-6 advantage for UFV. Offensively, the Timberwolves struggled to find their rhythm, opening the game 2-for-13 from the field.
UNBC would reel off a 13-2 run late in the second quarter, surging ahead 39-32 at halftime. Three-pointers by Darren Hunter, Evgeni Baukin and Fareed Shittu were the highlights for the visitors during that stretch.
Jessie and Ross excelled in the third quarter, scoring eight and six points, respectively, in the frame as UNBC continued to expand the lead. They cruised home from there, pushing the advantage beyond the 20-point plateau in the fourth.
UFV dominated on the glass, out-rebounding UNBC 44-34, but they coughed up 25 turnovers compared to a tidy 12 for the visitors.
Dhivaan Bhogal registered a double-double for the second consecutive night for the Cascades, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 boards. Anderson finished with 15 points, and Dario Lopez had 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Jessie led the T-Wolves with 19 points, to go along with five assists and four rebounds, while Ross had 18 points, six rebounds and four steals. Spencer Ledoux added 14 points.
The Cascades are on the road next weekend, facing the UBC Okanagan Heat in Kelowna.
– with files from Rich Abney, UNBC Athletics
Women’s Basketball: Cascades catch fire, blow out T-Wolves by 33
After starting slowly for a second straight night against the UNBC Timberwolves, the University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball team found its form and lived up to their lofty advance billing as the nation’s No. 2-ranked team.
The Cascades trailed by six at the end of the first quarter, but dominated from that juncture, cruising past the T-Wolves by a 78-45 score at the UFV Athletic Centre.
UFV had struggled with ball security during Friday’s 68-57 win over UNBC, coughing up 33 turnovers. They were much better in that department on Saturday, giving the ball away just 13 times.
UFV’s backcourt was outstanding – starters Maddy Gobeil (17 points, five assists) and Nikki Cabuco (14 points, three assists) led the way offensively, and rookie Bernadet Leda chipped in with 12 points off the bench.
The T-Wolves were limited to 26.2 per cent shooting from the field and did not have a double-digit scorer – Sveta Boykova’s nine points topped the scoring list for UNBC.
“We didn’t play well as a team last night, and that was the main focus for us today,” Gobeil said afterward.
“At the end of the day, I think we did come out and play the way we wanted to play. We have a lot still to work on, but we took a couple steps back last night and we took some steps forward today.”
The Cascades’ offence took time to hit its stride on Saturday in the face of determined defence from the visitors. Sveta Boykova scored seven points in the first quarter as the T-Wolves grabbed a 15-9 lead.
Gobeil lit the fuse for her squad in the second quarter, ramping up her aggression in both the halfcourt and transition. The third-year point guard opened the frame with two quick buckets to ignite a 9-0 Cascade run, and she would finish with nine points in the quarter as the hosts opened a 29-22 lead at the half.
The Cascades carried that momentum into the second half, and eight third-quarter points from Cabuco helped push the lead to 53-37 heading to the fourth. The hosts continued to pour it on from there, stretching the margin beyond 30 points.
Deanna Tuchscherer stuffed the stat sheet for UFV, posting eight points, seven rebounds and a game-high nine assists, while Natalie Rathler registered eight points and nine boards.
The Cascades hit the road next weekend to face the UBC Okanagan Heat, with the T-Wolves host the Calgary Dinos.
Women’s Volleyball: Epic third set leads Cascades to gritty win over Wesmen
The sister act of Gabrielle and Lauren Attieh continues to be UFV women’s volleyball’s biggest hit.
Trailing 23-18 in the third set, Lauren Attieh notched a kill to give the Cascades a point and side out. Then, the second year outside hitter from Surrey, B.C. stepped up to the service line and served out the match – six consecutive points, including an ace, with sister Gabrielle adding a pair of kills including the set winner. It capped a set where the Cascades once trailed 9-3 and led for the first time at 24-23.
With the third-set momentum at their backs, the Cascades just kept going, taking set four and the match (19-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-22).
UFV extends is win streak to four, leveling their record at 4-4 on the season, while Winnipeg holds the same record of 4-4 after UFV took both games this weekend.
“Learning how to win two matches in a row on the road was something we are working on,” said head coach Janelle Rozema following her squad’s second 3-1 victory in as many nights. “Tonight, the team did a really good job of rallying and bringing out a high level of consistent play which was great to see.”
Gabrielle Attieh finished the weekend with 44 kills and 23 digs, while sister Lauren, the U SPORTS women’s volleyball athlete of the week earlier in November, ended the weekend with 29 kills and 27 digs, respectively.
A pivotal part of Saturday’s match was the timeout Rozema called when the Cascades trailed 23-18 in the third set.
“I talked about specific assignments and how our tactical discipline was carrying us tonight,” she said. “I reminded each of them to think what each player’s role was in each point. That was it. They responded really well.”
Second-year libero Emily Matsui paced the Cascades on the defensive side with 19 digs.
In addition to the veterans, Rozema praised first-year Cascade Natalie Lemoine-Sells who was returning to her hometown Winnipeg for the first time.
“Natalie responded well on the defensive side and with her serve,” said Rozema. “Especially with the pressure of playing in front of family and friends. We heard some ‘Go Cascades’ chants tonight, which is nice to hear on the road.”
The Cascades return home to take on the Mount Royal Cougars (5-3). First serve for the women will be Friday Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. followed by Saturday at 7 p.m. Saturday is also “Stuff a Cruiser” night as the Cascades team up with Abbotsford Police in support of the Abbotsford Hospital pediatric unit. Fans are encouraged to bring a new unwrapped toy to the game in support of the event.
Men’s Volleyball: Cascades drop five-set heartbreaker in Winnipeg
It took extra points to decide, as the University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team dropped an epic five-set match (25-19, 20-25, 21-25, 25-16, 21-19) to the host Winnipeg Wesmen on Saturday night.
The loss drops UFV to 2-6 on the season, while Winnipeg evens its record at 4-4.
“Much better match than the night before, just had challenges with sustained pressure where Winnipeg had sustained pressure all evening,” said UFV head coach Nathan Bennett. “Eventually that is what made the difference in the match.”
Third-year international student Nimo Benne led the Cascades with 19 kills, one ahead of teammate Caleb Kastelein. Ryan Adams led the Cascades with 11 digs.
The Wesmen were led by Nigel Nielsen’s 19 kills, and Darian Picklyk was the top defender for Winnipeg, notching 13 digs in the win.
The serving line was not kind to the Cascades who committed 29 service errors in the tight match, while the Wesmen committed 18 in the victory. The other lopsided stat line was in blocks where UFV doubled up on the Wesmen 14-7 over the five sets.
Off to a slow start, the Cascades trailed by four points for most of the first set, clawing it back to just a one point game at 17-16. After the teams traded points over the next number of rallies, a tape roll serve dropped into the middle of a groups Cascades, giving the Wesmen a lead at 23-20. The Cascades got it to 23-21, before a costly service error gave the Wesmen back a three-point advantage. It was a lead they would not relinquish eventually taking the set 25-22.
Adams was the difference with some huge blocks to start the second set, sparking the Cascades to a 5-2 early advantage. The Cascades held the lead before giving it up for just a moment at 15-14, before a quick turnaround had the match in UFV’s favour at 19-16 when the Wesmen took a timeout. The team traded points before the Cascades extended the lead to five through some solid defence and strong serving, eventually taking the second frame 25-20.
The third set mirrored the first one with the Cascades trailing early. But a Benne ace tied the score at five and a Kastelein kill gave the Cascades a 6-5 lead they never gave up, eventually prevailing 25-21.
Set four was all Wesmen. Despite a tie at 8-8, the Cascades committed a number of service errors to open the door for Winnipeg as they cruised to a 16-25 score forcing a fifth and deciding frame.
The fifth set was a see-saw affair with the Wesmen taking the early lead only to have the Cascades claw back to tie it at 5-5. Leading 8-7 at the break, UFV setter Jonas Van Huizen had a critical ace to make the score 9-7. UFV battled back from down 14-12, eventually taking a 15-14 lead, but were unable to secure the match point. Sides out took the game to 20-19, before a Winnipeg block sealed the victory at 21-19.
“We are looking forward to resetting,” said Bennett. “Getting a week’s worth of training, and getting ready to host Mount Royal.”
The Cascades men will take on the 4-1 Cougars on Friday evening beginning at 6 p.m. PST. The weekend marks the annual “Stuff a Cruiser” toy drive in support of Abbotsford Regional Hospital.
