The University of the Fraser Valley women's basketball team was pushed to the limit by the UBC Okanagan Heat on opening night, but were able to emerge with a 71-67 victory Friday at the UFV Athletic Centre.
The Cascades led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter, only to watch the pesky Heat battle nearly all the way back. The visitors reeled off a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to 67-65 with just under three minutes left in regulation.
UFV was able to lock things down defensively from that point, allowing just two points the rest of the way, to ensure they'd end the night with a 1-0 record.
The Cascades are back in action at home on Saturday, hosting the UNBC Timberwolves (5 p.m., CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op), while the Heat (0-1) are in Kamloops to face the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.
"We just didn't play like a veteran team," UFV head coach
Al Tuchscherer said, reflecting on his team's performance down the stretch of the fourth quarter. "We went on a nice run, and it felt like we were pulling away a bit there. But we took two poor shots, fouled them, and then off they go. We've got to learn how to finish teams, for sure."
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The Cascades got off to a solid start, opening a 15-7 lead in the first quarter, but the Heat – as they would do all night long – clawed back to within 15-14 before a
Madison Draayers triple gave UFV an 18-14 lead at the end of the frame.
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The hosts stretched the lead to double digits in the second quarter and led 40-29 at the half after
Alexis Worrell drained a trey just before the break, and they would maintain a comfortable margin throughout the third.
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In the fourth, the Cascades reeled off an 8-0 run, capped by five straight
Nikki Cabuco points, to seemingly take control, up 67-52 with six minutes left. But the Heat fought back behind Jaeli Ibbetson, who accounted for nine straight UBCO points on a trio of triples as part of the 13-0 run.
The Cascades restored order off a slick inbounds play, as
Maddy Gobeil hit a cutting
Deanna Tuchscherer for the layup, and in the dying seconds, they weathered a three-point attempt from the corner by Kasey Patchell before a pair of
Julia Tuchscherer free throws provided the final margin.
Gobeil paced the Cascades with 14 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals, and four other UFV players scored in double digits:
Deanna Tuchscherer (13), Cabuco (11),
Julia Tuchscherer (10) and Worrell (10). The Tuchscherer sisters each grabbed eight boards, and Cabuco added five assists and four steals.
Ibbetson went 5-for-10 from downtown en route to a game-high 19 points, and Kelsey Falk had a huge 15-point, 15-rebound double-double. Surprise Munie (13 points) and Brianna Falk (11) also scored in double figures.
"They really took us out of our game, I thought," Coach Tuchscherer said of the Heat. "They played a lot harder than us early in the game, and I think it really got in our heads with the full-court pressure they were applying. It took me a little off-guard, to be honest with you – I was surprised we weren't a little more effective breaking their pressure. All night, we didn't run offence the way we wanted to. But it all starts with your defence – when they're scoring and they're able to set up their pressure, it makes it hard for us to run offence."
