The UFV Cascades women's basketball team debuted at third in the U SPORTS national rankings this week, after starting their season with a pair of victories over the MacEwan Griffins.

"I think it's important for a program like ours to see some of the results and be mentioned with some of the bigger programs in the country," noted UFV head coach Al Tuchscherer. "Our program is really centered around local kids and our local community, so it's important that people in this community can take pride in our team as well."

The Acadia Axewomen, and the Regina Cougars landed at first and second in the national rankings respectively, while the Saskatchewan Huskies (fourth) and Bishop's Gaiters (fifth) round out the top-five. Last season, the Cascades finished their season ranked number seven in the country.

"It's nice to be in a position where you are recognized as one of the top-10 teams in the country. This is a group that's worked hard in the last few years and put in the effort to come together as a team," explained Tuchscherer.

"At the same time, all this means is that we have to work harder. We aren't a secret out here anymore, so we have to be prepared to play our best game every night."

Cascades forward Natalie Rathler echoed that sentiment when asked about the ranking.

"Everyone has been pretty excited about it, but we have always been a team that's not really looked too much into that. We know that we have to show up every day to practice and games and play as hard as we can."

UFV now turns their attention towards their home openers this weekend, as they will take on the Manitoba Bisons. Games are at 6 p.m. on Friday, and 5 p.m. on Saturday at the UFV Athletic Centre. All Cascades regular season games are also available to be streamed live on canadawest.tv.

Tuchscherer stressed that despite the ranking, there needs to be a tempered approach heading into the weekend's games.

"It's our job to make sure we are still focused on our preparation for a good Manitoba team, and that we are bringing our best game for our home opener. It should be an exciting night."