The University of the Fraser Valley basketball teams host their regular season home openers this weekend, as the UNBC Timberwolves come to town.
The Cascades and T-Wolves tangle on Friday (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m.) and Saturday (women 5 p.m., men 7 p.m.) at the Envision Athletic Centre.
The UFV hoopsters opened the Canada West schedule on the road this past weekend, with the women and the men earning two wins apiece against the UBC Okanagan Heat.
The Cascades women showed great improvement from one night to the next – after requiring overtime to dispatch the Heat 82-75 on Friday, they blew them out Saturday by a 78-58 score.
Head coach Al Tuchscherer said his team did a better job sticking to the game plan the second night, and they’ll need similar focus and discipline against UNBC this weekend.
The T-Wolves (0-2) are led by fourth-year forward Sarah Robin, who is averaging a team-high 12.5 points per game. Vasiliki Louka, a 6’1” rookie centre from Greece, is posting 8.5 points and 9.0 rebounds.
As for the Cascades, a pair of fifth-year players are currently Canada West stat leaders – centre Sarah Wierks tops to conference’s rebounding chart at 13.5 per game, and point guard Celeste Dyck’s 88.9 shooting percentage from the field also ranks first. Katie Brink and Nataliia Gavryliuk are tied for sixth in conference scoring at 16.5 points per game.
“UNBC has always been a tough team to play against,” Tuchscherer said. “They run some different things, they’re hard to defend, and they have a couple big girls on their squad … Between how they execute and their two big kids, we need to be ready to defend against those two challenges.”
The UFV men’s team won by eight points both nights in Kelowna, 84-76 on Friday and 81-73 on Saturday, and showcased a balanced attack along the way.
Five Cascades are averaging double-figure points thus far: Kevon Parchment (15), Jasper Moedt (14.5), Nate Brown (14), Dominique Brooks (13) and Manny Dulay (12.5). Forward Kadeem Willis is hauling down 8.5 rebounds per game, tied for ninth in conference.
They take on a UNBC team (0-2) which has strength in the post in the form of Franco Kouagnia, a 6’7” centre from Cameroon who is averaging 20 points and 8.5 rebounds, and Devin McMurtry, a 6’4” forward who is posting 11 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Both are fifth-year veterans, and McMurtry is tied for first in the conference in rebounding.
“This year, we’re big enough to match up inside with height and with size, but it’s definitely going to be a big challenge,” head coach Adam Friesen said.
“I think the challenge for us this season is getting used to being the hunted instead of the hunter. There’s unique and different challenges you have to face in that role, which is new for us.”
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