Friday, Feb. 11: Cascades (10-2, 2nd in West Division) at UBC Thunderbirds (5-9, 6th in West Division), 6 p.m., Vancouver, B.C.
Saturday, Feb. 12: Cascades at Victoria Vikes (8-4, 3rd in West Division), 3 p.m., Victoria, B.C.
Webcast: CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op

THE MATCH-UPS

The Cascades continue their pursuit of first place in the West Division – Trinity Western (13-3) currently sits atop the standings, but UFV has one fewer loss and four games in hand.

They face a pair of tough opponents this weekend in UBC and UVic who will both be looking to improve their playoff seeding at the Cascades' expense. UVic, at 8-4, is very much alive in the race for first in the West, with three head-to-head match-ups with UFV left on their schedule.

RECENT FORM

The Cascades are 6-1 since the calendar flipped to 2022 – in their most recent action last week, they defeated Thompson Rivers 68-56 on the road.

The Thunderbirds and Vikes went head-to-head last weekend in Victoria, with UVic sweeping the weekend series by 67-54 and 82-69 scores. The Vikes are riding a six-game win streak.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Madison Draayers, UFV – The third-year forward out of Abbotsford's Yale Secondary has emerged as a deadly perimeter shooter off the bench for the Cascades this season. She's shooting a scorching 52.9 per cent from downtown, leading Canada West and ranking second in the nation.  

Kate Johnson, UBC – The veteran point guard rose to the occasion that last time UBC and UFV clashed – she averaged 17 points and four assists over the two games at War Memorial Gym, which the two teams split. Johnson ranks 15th in CW in assists, averaging 2.9 per game.

Ashlyn Day, UVic – The fourth-year guard is the reigning Canada West women's basketball athlete of the week after leading her team to a sweep of UBC. The highlight was a 42-point outburst last Friday, which is the seventh-best single-game total in CW history and is the highest single-game output in U SPORTS this season. Day leads CW in scoring (22.0 ppg) and is shooting 43.5 per cent from downtown.

QUOTABLE

"We played UBC at their gym for our first two road games. They have some good guards we'll have to scout and defend, players who can shoot it and put the ball on the ground, and we'll really know what we're doing against them. But then it's just the same game plan we have every game – make sure we're making them take tough shots. With UVic, the biggest challenge is defending their players who are hot right now. Ashlyn Day is having the run of a lifetime – we need to make sure our defence is set against what she brings to the court, not giving her what she wants and letting her get to the line. They also have some guards who are long and fast, so we can't be getting beat in transition." – UFV forward Madison Draayers, on the upcoming match-ups with UBC and UVic

"We're working on finishing under pressure, with a body or arms in the way, getting ready to finish through contact. I also think it's important for us to look for our players in their spots, and being in the right locations on the perimeter for kick-outs off of drives. We've also talked a lot about pace – running the floor, and sprinting through our cuts." – Draayers, on what her team needs to do to find its rhythm offensively