Maddy Gobeil and the University of the Fraser Valley women's basketball team proved once again to be road warriors, riding a dominant second half to a 68-54 victory over the Victoria Vikes in the B.C. capital.
The Vikes had no answer for sophomore point guard Gobeil, who racked up 25 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Fellow second-year standout
Deanna Tuchscherer also had a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) as the Cascades improved to 12-2 in Canada West play while dropping UVic to 9-5.
UFV has now won six in a row on the road, including both games of a challenging weekend swing trip which began with
a 64-56 victory at UBC on Friday.
"This was a tough road trip, and we challenged the group not to use any of the challenges of travel as an excuse, and I thought they really embraced that," Cascades head coach
Al Tuchscherer said. "They came in today really ready to play."
Indeed, the Cascades were dialed in from the opening tip, especially at the defensive end, where they forced nine Vike turnovers en route to a 19-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The momentum turned on a dime, as UVic opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run highlighted by four points from Aleah Ashlee. At the other end of the floor, it was the Cascades struggling with ball security – they mustered just nine points in the frame as the Vikes took a 30-28 lead into the break.
UFV sorted things out in the locker room and began the third on an 11-0 run –
Maddy Gobeil launched it with a three-pointer, and capped it with a driving layup. The Cascades maintained that cushion as they held a 48-41 lead heading to the fourth.
The Vikes got back to within three (52-49) after a Calli McMillan three, but the Cascades responded with an 11-2 surge led by
Deanna Tuchscherer and Gobeil to essentially put the game away.
Natalie Rathler chipped in with nine points for the Cascades, and
Nikki Cabuco scored eight.
CW scoring leader Ashlyn Day tallied 21 for the Vikes, but UFV made it difficult for her – she went just 4-for-14 from the field with a single three-pointer, but she did a great job of getting to the free throw line, where she went 12-for-12. McMillan added 16 points for UVic.
"Our second quarter was a bit of a letdown – we got away from how we wanted to play," Coach Tuchscherer said. "Once again, we regrouped at halftime, and the girls came out really strong in the third quarter and executed really well three or four possessions in a row that set the tone for the rest of the half.
"We've been really challenging Maddy to up her game as a point guard, as a leader, and a communicator on our team. Quite frankly, she wasn't very good at that in the first half. Dan (Nayebzadeh, assistant coach) had a really good conversation with her and got her back online, and she had a dominant second half for us, really controlled things."
Up next on the schedule for the Cascades basketball teams are their final home games of the campaign – they host the Vikes next Friday (MBB 6 p.m., WBB 8 p.m.) and Saturday (MBB 3 p.m., WBB 5 p.m.) at the UFV Athletic Centre.
