UFV cruises to play-in victory over Mount Royal

Recap by University of Saskatchewan Sports Information

SASKATOON - With a 78-60 win, the No. 7-seeded Fraser Valley Cascades prevailed over the No. 10-seeded Mount Royal Cougars Friday night (Feb. 13) in Canada West postseason action at the Physical Activity Complex in Saskatoon. With the win, the Cascades will advance to the conference quarterfinals, where they will take on their hosts and the No. 2-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies.

It was efficient offence and stifling defence which led Fraser Valley to victory, with the Cascades shooting an impressive 50.8% from the field and recording 26 assists, all while forcing the Cougars into 22 turnovers.

UFV controlled much of the game leading by double-digits for nearly the entire second half with the exception of a brief moment where MRU cut the deficit to single digits. However, the Cascades responded well, reestablishing their advantage before closing out the win.

"I was just proud of the girls with their approach tonight," said Fraser Valley head coach Al Tuchscherer. "I thought they were really hungry tonight, really wanted the win, and really wanted to get into the quarterfinals so I'm just really proud of them for that."

After Mount Royal struck first, the Cascades responded with a 6-0 burst led by Ester Allison and Fania Taylor. The Cougars would bring things back however, in what proved to be a tightly-contested opening frame ending with UFV leading 15-13.

The second saw the Cascades pull ahead with an early stretch of turnovers which allowed Fraser Valley to find their rhythm offensively. Shooting 50% by the end of the frame, the second also saw UFV flex their defensive ability, holding MRU to just 27. Despite the deficit Mount Royal's Nora Luca did all she could to keep her team in it, scoring nine of her game-high 22 in the period.

Coming out for the third, the two teams quickly settled into a back-and-forth, trading scores and stops at both ends of the court. Despite getting into foul trouble early, the Cougars outscored the Cascades 17-16 in the frame, entering the fourth down 11 in what proved to be an evenly matched third quarter.

Fraser Valley quickly found themselves in foul trouble early in the fourth, allowing the Cougars to gain momentum at the offence end. A trio of free throws from Asha Donnelly followed by back-to-back Presley Hopf layups allowed MRU to cut the deficit to just six points, the closest the score had been since the first half.

The comeback attempt was short lived however, as Fania Taylor and Ester Allison combined for key scores to swing momentum back in UFV's favour.

In the final minutes the Cascades sealed the win with scores from Miah Schuurman and Allison, officially booking their tickets to the next round of the postseason.

Fifth-year Nora Luca paced the Cougars with 22 points as she carried Mount Royal's offence throughout the contest. UFV countered with five players in double-digits though, led by Ester Allison's 18 while Fania Taylor added 15, Miah Schuurman 14, Bernie Leda 14, and Julia Tuchscherer 13.

"We've got to be the best version of ourselves tomorrow," said Tuchscherer. "We know [the Huskies] are a great program and a great team this year, so we need to be playing our best, and we'll be happy with that."

Tipoff in tomorrow's Canada West Quarterfinal between the Huskies and Cascades is set for 5 p.m. CST at the Physical Activity Complex in Saskatoon.

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