The first weekend home stand of the Canada West regular season proved to be a successful one for the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades men's and women's basketball teams.
The teams swept the UBCO Heat with four wins spread out on Friday (Nov. 8) and Saturday (Nov. 9).
The women opened up a 24-12 first quarter lead on the Heat and then closed off the game with a 22-11 fourth quarter to earn the 76-63 win.
The Cascades shot a red-hot 50.9 per cent from the field and 7/12 from beyond the arc in the win. Forward Deanna Tuchscherer came off the bench with 20 points to lead the team in scoring, while guard Maddy Gobeil added 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
"First win at home this season, so it's nice to get that under our belt," Gobeil said following the game. "UBCO is a tough team and they obviously give us a challenge, so it was nice to come out hot in that first quarter."
WBB | The Cascades pull away in overtime, as they claim both wins over UBCO this weekend!#weclimbweconquer #rallyforthevalley pic.twitter.com/WE0ie4Mxq1
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) November 10, 2024
Saturday's game saw the teams tied at regulation and the Cascades escaped with an 84-75 win.
UFV again shot well at 48.5 per cent and Tuchscherer again led the way with 26 points. Julia Tuchscherer, Deanna's younger sister, also had a spectacular game with 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Guard Nikki Cabuco added 19 and Gobeil had 14 points and eight boards.
"We dug ourselves into a bit of hole in the first half, so we had to get things together going into the second," stated D. Tuchscherer. "I think we did a good job at coming together and playing the way that we do. Moving forward we need to figure out how to put things together for 40 minutes because we have yet to do that."
After dropping the first game of the year to the UBC Thunderbirds, the women have won three straight. They next head to Kamloops to take on the TRU Wolfpack on Friday (Nov. 15) and Saturday (Nov. 16).
MBB | Friday night wins!#weclimbweconquer #rallyforthevalley pic.twitter.com/6Cnagovtdl
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) November 9, 2024
Meanwhile, the men opened with a big offensive statement and downed the Heat 80-66 on Friday.
Dario Lopez poured in 28 points to go with five rebounds, while Clay Kurtz added 11 points and seven boards. The Cascades shot 48.5 per cent from the field and never trailed in the game.
"I felt like we were all doing a good job of getting the plays we wanted, getting guys to their spot, and thanks to my teammates and thanks to Joe [Enevoldson, head coach] I was able to convert," Lopez said. "I was feeling comfortable with the touches I was getting and feeling good with my shooting today."
The Cascades then rode a 19-12 third quarter to distance themselves from the Heat and earn the 66-58 win on Saturday.
MBB | The Cascades found the weekend sweep against the @UBCOHeat tonight! 👀🧹#weclimbweconquer #rallyforthevalley pic.twitter.com/auSkbGUG8b
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) November 10, 2024
Both teams struggled to make shots, with the Heat shooting 36.4 per cent and the Cascades making 40 per cent of all shots. Turnovers were also a major issue for the Heats, as they committed 24 in the game.
Kurtz collected a team-high 23 points and eight rebounds, while Ismael Hernandez contributed with 11 points off the bench for UFV. Forward Matthias Klim added three blocks in limited minutes due to foul trouble.
"It was a gritty win compared to the other night, but I think we needed that," Kurtz said. "It felt good tonight to get a gritty win. Our defence has definitely gotten better. Keeping any team to 58 is tough, so I think being able to do that even when we aren't scoring a lot ourselves, it shows how much our defence has improved over the last year."
The men move to 2-2 on the season with the wins. They also next head to Kamloops for games against the TRU Wolfpack on Friday and Saturday.
The teams return home for games against the Victoria Vikes on Nov. 22 and 23.
