Fraser Valley – WVB: Cascades fall to Pandas in Canada West bronze medal match
Abbotsford, BC – Lauryn Tremblay and the University of Alberta Pandas are heading back to Edmonton with medals around their necks, as they closed out a 3-1 (25-20, 26-24, 14-25, 25-22) win over the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades in Friday night’s Canada West bronze medal match.
The win earns the Pandas a berth in the U SPORTS National Championship from March 15-17 In Hamilton, ON.
Unfortunately, the loss sees the Cascades’ third, and most successful, Canada West season come to an end.
“It sucks having to go out this way, especially when we were so close to our goal of nationals,” said Cascades setter Kinna Fisher post game. “But I feel if it had to end this way, we gave it our all and never gave up on that belief. I’m proud of how we finished.”
After the Pandas rode an 18-10 lead to a first set win, a Tremblay kill put them up 19-12 in the second. The teams traded short runs to see UFV trail 23-17, but three kills from Lauren Attieh, and an ace from Natalie Crews saw them pull it all the way back to 24 apiece. However, a kill from Laila Johnston and a block from Ronnie Dickson righted the ship for the Pandas as they took it 26-24.
WVB | Talia trying to break the floorboards with that kill. ?? pic.twitter.com/R0FFKFoT4v — UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) March 9, 2024
Fisher started the Cascades on the front foot in the third, as her strong serving found her an ace and her team an 8-0 lead. A pair of side-outs brought Gabrielle Attieh up to serve, and she followed up with a kill and an ace to put UFV up 13-1 and they cruised to take the set.
WVB | The Cascades open the third with an 8-0 run! pic.twitter.com/gk6D7VH1HU — UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) March 9, 2024
WVB | Gabby finds the block, and the Cascades take set 3! pic.twitter.com/2XnGHlhjSK — UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) March 9, 2024
The comeback was not meant to be in the fourth, however. A pair of aces from Dickson gave Alberta a 19-13 lead, and despite another strong serving run from UFV’s Fisher, to square it up at 19, three Johnston kills down the stretch set up an Allie Moore ace to seal it.
“From our side it was a really gritty performance, just sticking with it when things weren’t going our way,” said Alberta head coach Carolyn O’Dwyer. “At this time of year that is how you have to play, especially against such a strong team like UFV. To keep our season going is exciting, and now moving on to that quarterfinal we will look to do the same thing there.”
“I think we feel really prepared. That is something that is really special about our conference. It’s week in and week out that you are having to battle and go through those tough moments.”
Tremblay and Fisher were named the Mikasa players of the game for each team after the match.
Tremblay and Johnston led the Pandas with 13 kills each, while Dickson had five blocks and Justine Kolody had 38 assists.
Talia Attieh was strong offensively, leading UFV with 17 kills and hitting .308, while Lauren and Gabby Attieh had 13 and 11 kills respectively. Fisher, G. Attieh, and Crews each finished the match with two aces, and libero Emily Matsui ended with 17 digs.
WBB: Tuchscherer double-double not enough, as Casacades fall in consolation semifinal
EDMONTON, ALBERTA – Saint Mary’s guard Clara Gascoigne had a game-high 18 points to lead the #3 seed Saint Mary’s Huskies to a 69-42 victory over the #7 seed Fraser Valley Cascades in the U SPORTS Women’s Basketball Final 8 Consolation Semifinals on Friday evening at the Saville Centre.
With the win, the Huskies will play for fifth place in U SPORTS on Saturday at 3 p.m. MST (6 p.m. AST) against the #5 seed Alberta Pandas.
Schedule & Results
Huskies guard Courtney Donaldson chipped in 14 points including a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, in what could have been the final game of her U SPORTS career if the Huskies didn’t pull out the win.
“Fraser Valley is a gritty team and we knew it was not going to be easy, especially bouncing back from the loss yesterday, but we had a meeting and said let’s stick together and do it for us, show that we can get two more wins in this tournament and hopefully finish off the year with a win,” said Donaldson post-game.
Both teams impressed on the defensive end, but the Huskies were able to hold the sixth-best offence nationally in Fraser Valley to just a 26.8% mark from the field (15/56). They rode an insanely hot 27-point opening quarter to the final buzzer, never trailing in the contest.
It was not hard to see the Huskies gameplan early – shoot threes early and often. Six of their first eight attempts were from deep and it worked swimmingly with Saint Mary’s connecting on two of those in what was an early 10-3 run to snag the momentum off the tip. The Cascades were also prevented from getting much going on their offensive end, with the Huskies escaping the first with a 27-12 lead. They hit seven threes in quarter, including two from Gascoigne who led all scorers with 10.
WBB | Bernie Leda gets the hoop and the harm on the left-handed finish!#weclimbweconquer #rallyforthevalley pic.twitter.com/8jL94kkpyJ — UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) March 9, 2024
The Cascades tightened up defensively in the second, with the Huskies missing their first 10 attempts from the field, but still struggled to get points on the board on the other end enroute to a 36-25 halftime deficit. The teams shot a cumulative 7-for-31 (22.5%) from the field in the frame.
Gascoigne led all scorers at the break with 12, while forward Julia Tuchscherer paced the Cascades with seven and added nine rebounds.
The third was another defensive onslaught as the squads combined for just 18 points, nine apiece. The Cascades were led by Natalie Rather who had three points on perfect shooting, while the Huskies missed all 14 field goal attempts but were kept afloat with success at the line going 9/10 in the frame. They entered the final quarter up 45-34.
WBB | Nat Rathler pulls down the offensive board and finishes off the three-point play.#weclimbweconquer #rallyforthevalley pic.twitter.com/ECx4w0CFUY — UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) March 9, 2024
Gascoigne and Saint Mary’s found their stroke in the final frame, outscoring the Cascades 24-8 to put the game on ice and advance in the Consolation bracket.
Gascoigne had three makes from deep to lead a Saint Mary’s offence that popped 40 three-point attempts in the game – 21 more than the Cascades. Lucina Beaumont flanked her with a double-double, recording 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win, while Donaldson added 14.
Forward Julia Tuchscherer was a bright spot for the Cascades as her 12 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks were team-highs, and she was named UFV’s Player of the Game. Rathler, the Cascades’ lone senior, finished the game with seven points and six rebounds on perfect shooting.
Fraser Valley, the Canada West bronze medalists, finish their tournament 0-2 but still record their best national finish since their last appearance in 2014.
The Huskies will play in the Consolation Final tomorrow at 3PM MST against the #5 seed Alberta Pandas on their home court.
Boxscore
Players of the Game
Saint Mary’s: #8 Clara Gascoigne
Fraser Valley: #10 Julia Tuchscherer
