Abbotsford, BC – After building a big early lead, the UFV Cascades cruised to a 66-46 win over the Trinity Western University Spartans on Friday night at the UFV Athletic Centre. 

The win moves the Cascades to 16-3 on the season, while the Spartans drop to 12-7 on the year. 

How it Happened
A 20-3 run to start the game, including five-points from Deanna Tuchscherer, gave the Cascades early command over the game. The teams traded points for the remainder of the half with the Spartans cutting the deficit to 11, but four straight made free throws from Maddy Gobeil gave the hosts a 15-point lead at the break. 

A Natalie Rathler bucket gave UFV a 22-point lead mid-way through the third, and the team managed the rest of the game to finish off the 20-point victory.

Top Performers:
Maddy Gobeil led the way for the Cascades with 19 points, four assists and six boards. Deanna Tuchscherer chipped in 15 points and six rebounds, while Google Sidhu added 11 points four rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes off the bench.

Shemiah Abatayo had 13 points and five rebounds for the Spartans, while Hailey Van Roekel had eight points and three boards.

Quotable:
Cascades guard Google Sidhu

"I thought we had a good game plan, and we were executing it well. Our guards played really well, and our posts crashed the boards."

"It's definitely going to be an emotional day tomorrow. But I think we almost have to play internally. It's going to be emotional with Nat [Rathler] playing her last regular season game, and we want to be playing for Nat, but we have to come in ready to go just like today."

Up next:
The Cascades and Spartans meet up once again on Saturday, with tipoff set for 5p.m. Saturday will also feature a ceremony following the women's basketball game to celebrate the Cascades' graduating seniors.