Abbotsford, BC – The UFV Cascades women's basketball team found themselves on the wrong end of a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter, and that proved to be the difference as the University of Alberta Pandas came out on top 63-56 in this rematch from last year's Canada West quarterfinal. 

As it happened: 
A pair of Deanna Tuchscherer three pointers gave the Cascades a small lead after the first quarter, before the Cascades forward added five second quarter points to lead all scorers at the break.

However, UFV would see their five-point halftime advantage disappear in the third quarter, as Kiah Easton-Ihediohanma put up six of her game-high 19 points in the frame to gave Alberta a one-point lead headed into the fourth.

The Pandas started the final frame on a 10-0 run, and held the Cascades scoreless in the first five minutes of the fourth to take a 54-43 lead. Back-to-back triples from D. Tuchscherer and Maddy Gobeil cut the deficit to just four with two minutes left, and a Bernie Leda jumper made it a one score game with over a minute to go. However, three points from Claire Signatovich re-established the Alberta advantage, and Easton-Ihediohanma hit two late free throws to seal the win for the visitors.

The Cascades struggled to maintain possession of the ball in this one, as they turned the ball over 27 times, and were outscored 25-16 on points off turnovers in the game.

Top performers: 
Deanna Tuchscherer led the way for UFV with 14 points and five rebounds, while Julia Tuchscherer notched 13 points and 11 boards. 

Easton-Ihediohanma had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Pandas, while Signatovich had 14 points and eight boards, and Jenna Harper added 13 points.

Quotable:
Cascades forward Deanna Tuchscherer

"I think for a big chunk of the game we were locked in to our gameplan and what we wanted to do on both sides of the floor, but I think we struggled to put the full game together, the full 40 minutes, where we are playing at the level we want to be at."

"That's a team we can play with, and we can play with anyone in Canada West. We have all the ability to be able to do that, as long as we can put that 40 minutes together with the focus and level of excellence that we want to play at." 

Up next:
The Cascades host the Pandas in the rematch on Saturday at the UFV Athletic Centre. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. and UFV Students attend for free with a valid student ID. Saturday's matchup is also the Cascades' annual Hall of Fame night where UFV will honour a pair of athletes as their 2024 inductees. Tickets can be purchased online at gocascades.ca/tickets, and the game can be seen live on canadawest.tv.