A monster second-half comeback yielded a crucial road victory for the University of the Fraser Valley women's basketball team, as they topped the UBC Thunderbirds 64-56 on Friday evening at War Memorial Gym.

The Cascades struggled mightily with ball security in the first half, trailing 38-24 at the break and by as many as 17 points in the third quarter. They were able to find their mojo in the nick of time, ending the game on a scorching 23-6 surge to improve to 11-2 in Canada West play while dropping the T-Birds to 5-10.

The Cascades continue their road swing on Saturday as they visit the Victoria Vikes (3 p.m., CanadaWest.tv).

"UBC really came at us hard, right off the tip," UFV head coach Al Tuchscherer observed. "They were playing the game at a whole different pace than we were, at both ends. We were not getting any stops, and they were really solid defensively, taking things away from us. I don't think we really thought through what we needed to do – we were a little bit rattled in that time period. We just needed halftime to regroup a little bit.

"We talked about making a couple adjustments offensively, and we settled down defensively. We were just more prepared in the second half to do what we needed to do. And then we were able to make some really big shots and make some really big plays."

The Cascades scuffled offensively in the first quarter – they shot 45.5 per cent from the field, yet mustered just 11 attempts as they struggled with turnovers. They gave the ball away eight times in the opening frame, while the T-Birds surrendered none, allowing the hosts to build a 20-15 lead after one.

Turnovers continued to plague UFV in the second – they coughed up the ball seven more times in the quarter, paving the way for UBC to grab a 38-24 lead. Eight different T-Birds hit the scoresheet in the first half, led by Emily Martindale's eight points; Maddy Gobeil's seven points paced the Cascades at the break.

The Cascades finally hit their stride midway through the third quarter, reeling off a 11-1 run capped by five straight Deanna Tuchscherer points to cut the deficit to 44-38. Tuchscherer and Gobeil caught fire from beyond the arc late in the frame, with Deanna hitting a pair and Maddy swishing one, and the deficit was 50-44 headed to the fourth.

UFV dominated the final frame, outscoring the T-Birds 20-6. They took their first lead with just over six minutes remaining as Nikki Cabuco hit back-to-back treys, and Natalie Rathler poured in eight points in the fourth as the Cascades cruised down the stretch.

Deanna Tuchscherer's 19 points were a team-high, and she added nine rebounds and four assists. Rathler contributed 14 huge points off the bench along with three assists and three steals, and Gobeil had 13 points and eight boards.

Madison Legault paced UBC with 12 points, and Martindale was the hosts' only other double-digit scorer with 10. The T-Birds lost standout guard Hailey Counsell to injury in the second quarter.

Afterward, Coach Tuchscherer noted Rather's impact down the stretch.

"The improvement of Nat this year has been incredible to watch," he said. "She's just getting better every day. She just does so many great things for us. It was neat to see her really come up big for us in the second half."