Cascades Men's Basketball
The UFV Cascades men's basketball team traveled to Los Angeles, California to play two non-conference exhibition games over the holiday break. The Cascades were defeated by Azusa Pacific University Cougars, 87-84, on December 27th and by Biola University Eagles, 80-68, on December 28th. The Cascades currently ranked 9th in the CIS Top Ten rankings, sporting a 5-3 Canada West record, good for second place in the Western Division. UFV returns to play on Friday, January 6th when they host the University of Calgary Dinos at Envision Athletic Centre (Abbotsford, BC).
In the Azusa Pacific game Joel Friesen, Abbotsford, BC led the Cascades with 21 points, 3 assists. Jasper Moedt, Abbotsford, BC led UFV with 9 total rebounds. Azusa is ranked in the NAIA top ten poll. "Hopefully we are one game closer to working off all the turkey the guys ate over Christmas. When we took care of the ball tonight, we were scoring well , but the Christmas break seemed to induce us into some sloppy play, and those turnover's opened the door for a tough Azusa team," said UFV head coach Barnaby Craddock. “Some positives signs were shown, as we put ourselves in a position to win down the stretch, and hopefully we will learn to value each possession a little more after this game."
In the Biola game, Kyle Grewal, Surrey, BC and Joel Friesen led UFV with 16 points each. Friesen added 6 assists and 3 steals to a very productive trip for the veteran guard from Abbotsford, BC. Grewal and Jasper Moedt each pulled down five total rebounds against the Eagles. UFV led at the half by one point, 30-29, but was outscored by 13 points in the second half.
“Second night in a row we played well in a tough road environment. Not quite the 40 good minutes we needed to get a win. But we worked the Christmas break rust out, and are thinking about our home games next weekend,” said Craddock. “We were out rebounded tonight, and combined with the free throws, it was too much for the guys to overcome.”
Media Note: Coach Craddock and the UFV Cascades were in attendance on Thursday, December 29th when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New York Knicks, 99-82, at the Staples Center.
Cascades Women's Basketball
The UFV Cascades women's basketball team traveled to Windsor, Ontario to participate in the defending CIS national champions holiday tournament. This is the second prestigious OUA non-conference tournament UFV is participating in this semester. Earlier, in October, UFV won the silver medal, at Carleton University's annual tournament. The Cascades have been ranked in the CIS top ten or near the top ten rankings all year, currently according to the RPI ratings, UFV is 12th in the CIS. The Cascades sport a 5-3 record and are tied for first place, with the University of Victoria Vikes, in the Western Division of Canada West.
The Cascades defeated Ryerson University Rams, 65-48, on December 28th, and defeated Quebec's Bishop's University Gaiters, 51-48, today. In the championship game, on December 30th, the host Lancers defeated UFV, 78-59. Windsor is currently ranked third in the CIS top ten poll.
In the final game, rebounding was the story of the game with Windsor winning that battle 51-36 including 24 offensive rebounds for the Lancers. Windsor had 25 second chance points compared to 8 for the Cascades. The Lancers lead by 13 points at the half and used a strong 3rd quarter performance to create a large lead. The Cascades battled all game with Sarah Wierks, Chilliwack, BC leading the way with 13 points, Tessa Klassen, Winnipeg, Manitoba added 10 points. Sarah Wierks led UFV with 7 rebounds.
“We had moments where we did good things, but against a team like this you need to do it for 40 minutes if you are going to have a chance. Definitely some things to reflect back on from weekend as we get ready for conference play this week,” said UFV Head Coach Al Tuchscherer.
In the victory over Bishop’s Nicole Wierks, Chilliwack, BC led UFV with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Against the Ryerson Rams, Klassen led the team with 13 points and Sarah Wierks with 11 total boards. “After a slow opening quarter we got things going in the second and into the second half. Thought our defense was pretty tough tonight and really kept us in the game until our offence arrived from Christmas break. It was good to see freshmen Kayli (Sartori) and Zoey (Haramboure) do some nice things for us and Jaslyen (Singh) had some nice minutes off the bench as well,” said Tuchscherer after the Ryerson game.
UFV resumes Canada West conference play on January 6th, hosting the University of Calgary Dinos, at Envision Athletic Centre.
