Abbotsford – The UFV Cascades women’s basketball team mixed and matched, switched and swapped tonight in a 58-48 pre-season loss to the University of Calgary Dinos at the EAC. While the final score was a reversal from what the team has become accustomed to over the last few seasons, the real point of the competition was to experiment with the new personnel and new roles on the Cascades roster. Every player is being asked for a different contribution this season, and tonight was the first chance for the team to don those new roles against a CIS-level opponent.
Early on the most obvious contributions were those that were missing – the Aieisha Luyken, Nicole Wierks, and Kayli Sartori-shaped holes were almost visible. For the last five years the cast has been so similar that Cascades fans have nearly forgotten how to deal with roster turnover. Still, new faces on the floor bring new excitement, new question marks, and new potential for a squad that has suddenly become very young. UFV has two fifth-years on the roster (Sarah Wierks and Celeste Dyck), no fourth-years, and only three third-years (Kaitlyn Brink, Nataliia Gavryliuk, and Shayna Litman). These first few pre-season games will be test, but they will also be an opportunity.
Tonight the Cascades stalled early, going down 19-9 in the first quarter, and hitting barely 20 percent of their field goals on the way to a 30-16 halftime deficit. The Dinos, by contrast, seemed to be on their way to a dominant victory behind a stellar performance from fourth-year guard Kristie Sheils (10 points at half). It was a nervous moment. Were the CIS bronze medal winners about to be blown out in their first game back in action? Could this UFV team live up to the legendary performances of its direct predecessor? Could coach Al Tuchscherer conjure a piece of basketball alchemy to get his players back in sync?
The third quarter provided an answer to these questions that couldn’t have made a UFV fan happier. Gavryliuk hit a three mere seconds in to post her first points of the night, and partnered with Wierks to boost the Cascades back into the game. Some of the assists Gavryliuk created were almost pieces of art, while Wierks pulled moves in the post that seemed to paralyze her defenders. UFV scored the first seven points before going on to outscore the Dinos 22-10 in the quarter. Suddenly the team was playing stifling defense, passing creatively, and shooting with confidence.
The high-water mark of the Cascades’ performance came in the first minute of the fourth quarter when a Wierks layup brought UFV to within two of the Dinos lead (42-40). Galvanized, Calgary went on its own seven point run to pull away into a lead that the team never again looked in danger of relinquishing.
Shayna Litman was the Cascades’ top scorer with 10 points, while Sarah Wierks had eight points and 14 rebounds. Celeste Dyck went 6-6 from the foul line on the way to her own 8 points, and Kaitlyn Brink had an impressive nine points and three steals.
“I think it took us a half to really get a feel for the pace of the game,” said Tuchscherer. “We were really scrambly [sic] everywhere on the floor. In the second half I thought we had a defensive focus that stabilized us, and that helped. It’s about figuring things out at this point, and giving kids an opportunity to play, trying different combinations and seeing what works. Overall I’m happy because I think we finished the game a lot stronger than we started the game.”
The Cascades will get another crack at the Dinos at 6 pm tomorrow night (Sept. 19), once again at the EAC.
Comments are closed.