Cascades dogged by Timberwolves in road victory
The seventh-ranked nationally UFV Cascades women’s basketball team (14-5) put in a streaky performance tonight to down the UNBC Timberwolves (4-15) by a score of 79-63 in Prince George, BC. The Cascades remain in a three-way tie for first in the Pacific division, but since the two other teams in the tie, the Victoria Vikes and UBC Thunderbirds, play each other next weekend, UFV has a good chance of clinching the top spot.
The first twenty minutes of tonight’s game weren’t particularly memorable for the Cascades. Aieisha Luyken and Courtney Bartel put on a three-point shooting clinic, but their point production barely kept UFV in the lead as the Cascades stumbled their way to 22 turnovers on the night. At half the Cascades were up only 41-38 over a team that has fewer wins on the year than UFV does losses, While the Timberwolves were playing a solid game behind newly-returned veteran Jen Bruce and scoring leader Mercedes VanKoughnett, it was the steady stream of layups provided by Cascades’ turnovers that kept UNBC within striking distance.
VanKoughnett put on an impressive show with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Bruce marked her return with 15 points and 3 steals. Sarah Wierks, Aieisha Luyken, and Bartel were all in double figures for the Cascades with 19, 16, and 17 points respectively. Nataliia Gavryliuk sparked her teammates with seven key points and three flashy blocks, and helped to hold the Timberwolves in check as UFV started the second half with a 13-3 run.
“It took us until the third to really play defense how we wanted,” said Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer. “We came out flat to start the game and you could see UNBC was ready to play. Once again our depth was the difference, getting some key contributions off the bench. I thought Courtney Bartel really energized us after stepping into the starting lineup tonight.”
The Cascades and Timberwolves will face off again Saturday in Prince George at 6 pm. Watch the game online at canadawest.tv
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