The UFV Cascades women’s basketball team closed out their Canada West Quarter-Final series in fine style Friday with a 60-48 win over the University of Calgary Dinos at the Envision Athletic Centre. With the victory the Cascades secure their spot in the Canada West Final Four championship on March 7-8, their fourth straight trip to the tournament.
The Dinos reversed the trajectory of Thursday night’s game (which UFV won 67-48) by leaping out of the gate and outscoring the Cascades 12-8 in the first quarter. UFV countered with 25 points in the second quarter to grab a 33-30 lead at the half, still a far cry from the 34-16 margin they enjoyed at the same point last night. The difference through 20 minutes was a 12 point effort from Calgary’s Tamara Jarrett, as well as a remarkable 22-13 Dino lead in rebounds. Calgary played with the urgency of a team on the brink of elimination, and Jarrett played as a fifth-year veteran who knew a loss would end her career. Still, the Dinos simply couldn’t match the quality of the Cascades, who, with five fifth-year veterans of their own, are hungry for another shot at the national tournament.
Natalia Gavryliuk led all scorers for the third straight game with 18 points (6-9 from beyond the arc), and was the only Cascade to make a three-pointer all night (UFV went 6-24 collectively). Sarah Wierks and Kayli Sartori also finished in double-digits with 11 points apiece, and were instrumental in breaking down the Dino defense with transition baskets. Calgary was led by Jarrett, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
UFV came out swinging in the second half, and although the Dinos narrowed the lead to 10 (56-46) with four minutes remaining in the fourth, they never quite managed to make a game of it. The Cascades outshot them, outscored them, and grabbed 15 steals to Calgary’s five. Every Cascade who saw the floor (nine players altogether) scored at least two points and had at least one steal. The only category in which UFV didn’t outperform the Dinos was in rebounding, which the Dinos took 38-24.
“Proud of the team for getting back to the Canada West Final Four,” said UFV head coach Al Tuchscherer. “It’s an accomplishment worth pausing for. For our program to be going to our fourth consecutive tournament is impressive for this group of girls. We are looking forward to getting prepared for our first round opponent.”
The Final Four tournament will take place next weekend on March 7-8, and will be hosted by the highest remaining Canada West seed after the quarter-finals.