The University of the Fraser Valley women's basketball team extended its win streak to 10 games in thrilling fashion, rallying in the final minute of regulation to edge the Regina Cougars 63-60 on Friday at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
A tough, veteran-laden Cougars squad made the youthful Cascades earn everything they got, scoring five straight points down the stretch to go up 60-57 with 1:30 left. But the hosts finished with a flourish, reeling off a game-ending 6-0 run to earn the victory.
UFV (15-4) and Regina (8-11) conclude the Canada West regular season on Saturday at the EFAC (5 p.m., CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op).
"It was a fun game," Cascades head coach
Al Tuchscherer marveled afterward. "We haven't beaten Regina in a long time – we've got a lot of respect for their program.
"Regina's a lot better than their record. They've had players in and out of their lineup all year because of injury. Dave (Taylor, Cougars head coach) does such a good job with the stuff that he runs, and we knew it was going to be a real test for our team.
"One thing I'll say about our team – we adapt to most situations quite quickly. . . . Tonight was more of that. We did a really good job of adapting to what they were trying to do offensively."
In the first quarter, the Cascades and Cougars were executing smoothly at the offensive end – UFV built a 20-19 lead at the end of the frame with forwards
Taylor Claggett and
Deanna Tuchscherer combining for nine points, and Regina countered with eight points from Faith Reid, including a pair of triples.
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The game took on a defensive tone in the second, with the Cougars holding the Cascades to a single field goal and outscoring them 11-6 to take a 30-26 advantage into halftime.
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the second half, and in the fourth quarter, UFV rookie
Jessica Parker caught fire, scoring 10 points in the frame. Her driving lefty layup with two and a half minutes left gave the hosts a 57-55 lead, but the Cougars responded with a trey from Michaela Kleisinger and a putback layup from Emily Dewey to grab a 60-57 edge.
That was the last points the visitors would score, though, as UFV stiffened defensively. Claggett, after hitting a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one, came up with a steal that led to a clutch Tuchscherer jumper to give the Cascades the lead. UFV forced a shot clock violation on the next Regina possession, and on the ensuing inbounds,
Amanda Thompson hit a wide-open Parker with a baseball pass for the breakaway layup. Reid had a shot from beyond the arc at the buzzer to send it to OT, but it rimmed out.
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"We didn't create the shot we wanted (in the final minute), and they got a couple good shots," Cougars head coach Dave Taylor noted afterward. "At the end of the day, we wanted to give ourselves a chance to win. They're a very good team, and they made a couple more plays, really.
"We're happy with lots of that. We've been talking about how we've got to make a few less mental mistakes, and we made fewer tonight. But we still made a couple that ended up costing us."
Claggett finished with a game-high 20 points and eight boards,
Deanna Tuchscherer had 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Parker chipped in with 13 points for the Cascades.
Macaela Crone scored a team-high 14 for the Cougars, and Reid had 10.
BOUNCE PASSES: Saturday's game will feature a post-game Senior Night ceremony for graduating UFV fifth-year Claggett.
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