Fraser Valley/Calgary/Victoria – WBB: Tuchscherer leads Cascades as second half comeback sees Cascades top Dinos
The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women’s basketball team overcame a seven-point deficit at the half to defeat the University of Calgary Dinos 62-59 in the Canada West Quarterfinal at the UFV Athletic Centre on Saturday. UFV’s Julia Tuchscherer had a big night, falling just three assists, and three blocks short of a quadrouple double, as she helped lead the team to their second straight Canada West Final Four appearance.
“It’s exciting right? To get back to the final four, it’s a big deal,” UFV head coach Al Tuchscherer said post-game. “We have been that team all year that has been outside of the top-10 nationally all season, and we believed that we belonged in that group.”
UFV’s J. Tuchscherer was a dominant force on the night, scoring 16 points, and adding 11 rebounds, seven assists, and seven blocks for the Cascades. Gobeil added 16 points, and rookie Miah Schuurman chipped in eight points.
Kone led the way for Calgary, scoring 16 points, while Proctor had 12, and Pollyanna Storie had 11.
With the win, the Cascades will now travel to Saskatoon next week for a rematch of last season’s Canada West semifinal with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
MBB: Croke scores career-high but Cascades season ends against No. 1 ranked Vikes
The #1 seeded University of Victoria (20-0, 1-0) continued their undefeated season with a 106-84 win over the #9 University of the Fraser Valley Cascades (9-11, 1-1), Feb. 22, in the quarterfinal round of the Canada West playoffs at CARSA Performance Gym.
“UFV came to play,” said Vikes head coach Murphy Burnatowski of the matchup. “Obviously we got up a little bit, but they didn’t let us get out of the danger zone. They fought back- they’re physical, they’re big, and play super hard. The second you relax against them, they’re going to make you pay. Credit to them, it was close for most of the game and we were able to pull away a little bit at the end.”
Ethan Boag was the top point-getter for the Vikes, leading the team with 19 points in the win. Five additional Vikes finished with double-digit point totals: Renoldo Robinson, Dylan Gage, and Griffin Arnatt with 14 points each, and Sam Maillet and Aaron Tesfagiorgis at 13 points each.
In what ends up as his final Canada West game, Takeshi Croke led UFV with a Canada West career-high 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Fraser Valley head coach Joe Enevoldson noted his importance after the game. “In Victoria, in his hometown, to go six for six from three – really the difference in the game was when he got in a bit of foul trouble and we had to pull him with three. In that short spurt we missed his leadership, his calmness, we just missed him. He was outstanding.”
The Vikes will now host the University of Calgary in the Canada West semifinals Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. at CARSA Performance Gym. Catch the action on Canada West TV presented by BioSteel.
