Shayna Litman paced the Cascades with 16 points in Thursday’s clash with Alberta. (UFV Cascades file photo)
The University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball team dropped a 76-56 decision to the Alberta Pandas on Thursday afternoon in the opening game of the Cougar Classic exhibition tournament hosted by the University of Regina.
The Cascades and Pandas scored the same number of points (37) in the first and fourth quarters combined, but Alberta controlled the middle frames, outscoring UFV 39-19 over the second and third quarters.
While the Cascades were proficient from beyond the three-point arc, going 7-for-17 (41 per cent), the Pandas were absolutely white-hot, going 13-for-20 (65 per cent) from long distance. They also outrebounded UFV by a 41-29 margin.
“When you go into a game like this with a bunch of new kids that haven’t really experienced it before, it’s kind of inevitable what’s going to happen – the mistakes that are going to be made,” Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer analyzed afterward. “Those things came to fruition, for sure. Alberta dictated the pace and physicality of the game, and we were reacting to a lot of things tonight. So for the stage of our team, those are important lessons for us to experience.
“You never like to lose . . . but these are the steps you need to go through to learn how to compete,” he added. “We’ll watch some game film, and we’ll be better tomorrow for it.”
Fourth-year power forward Shayna Litman was the Cascades’ top scorer with 16 points to go with eight rebounds, while Sydney Williams (14 points, 4-for-9 from three) and Kayli Sartori (13 points, 3-for-4 from three) also scored in double figures.
Alberta’s Maddie Rogers registered a game-high 21 points, and Elle Hendershot scored 10.
The Cascades continue their run at the Cougar Classic on Friday, as they take on the Carleton Ravens at 5 p.m. local time. They wrap up the event on Saturday vs. the Ryerson Rams (11 a.m. start).
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