Abbotsford, BC – For the second night in a row the UFV Cascades women's basketball team got out to a first quarter lead as they picked up the weekend sweep over the UBC Okanagan Heat with the 87-59 win on Saturday at the UFV Athletic Centre.

The win boosts the Cascades to 6-0 to start the season, while the Heat drop to 2-4 so far.  

As it happened: 
The Cascades held a 12-10 lead after six minutes, but the UFV squad began to pull away from there. A bucket from Google Sidhu, followed by three straight makes from Marijke Duralia gave the Cascades a 10-point lead after the first.

The teams traded baskets throughout the second, but the Heat battled to keep the Cascades lead to just 10 at the half. However, the hosts came on strong in the third, with Fania Taylor, Natalie Rathler, and Duralia picking up six points apiece in the frame to make it a 21-point advantage headed into the fourth.

UFV continued to wear down their opponents in the final period, with a Sidhu jumper stretching the lead to as many as 30, as the Cascades cruised to victory.

Top performers: 
Julia Tuchscherer picked up 17 points, and added two blocks for UFV, while Duralia posted 14 points and six rebounds. Sidhu (13) and Gobeil (12) each finished in double digits in scoring on the night.

Jaeli Ibbetson notched a double-double for the Heat with 17 points and 12 boards, and Sofia Ainsa Lluch had 16 points.

Quotable:
Cascades forward Marijke Duralia

"When I come off the bench the goal is just to help the team as much as I can, whether that's points like tonight, or rebounds, or just solid defence. When you have teammates that believe in you and keep feeding you the ball, even if you have a couple misses, it helps your confidence for sure."

"With the week of practice that we had, we were confident going in, knowing we can compete to get the two wins this weekend. We have about 20 minutes to celebrate this weekend, and then we're going to get film, and scout and get ready for another week of practices before we travel on Thursday."

Up next:
The Cascades now head to Saskatchewan for a pair of games against the 2-2 Regina Cougars next Friday and Saturday. Both games can be seen live on Canada West TV.