By Nathan Hutton (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: February 19, 2014
In their last matchup of the season, the Trinity Western University Spartans failed to provide any real competition for UFV. Aieisha Luyken led the way, tallying 22 points in the 78-54 victory.
The women’s basketball team also honoured the largest number of seniors of all UFV’s varsity teams.
Luyken and Nicole Wierks are two leaders who will be leaving. They’ve grown into stars in their time at UFV, and boosted their team into a formidable one on many nights. Courtney Bartel, a teammate of Wierks through high school, and Samantha Kurath were valuable in support roles, providing the type of depth a team needs to survive a season. For Alexa McCarthy, injuries prevented her from getting on the floor at all this season. But McCarthy has been a presence on the bench all year and is stepping into an assistant coaching role under Al Tuchscherer.
All five players grew into their different roles during the years and will be missed by their teammates and coaches. The five seniors saw their team go from 2-16 in their first year together to 17-5 this year and a consistent top-10 national ranking.
The second game of the weekend proved to be a blowout like the night before and the Cascades got the security to rest their best players as they prepare for the playoffs. The Sasquatch player of the game was Nataliia Gavryliuk who finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in the team’s 55-39 victory.
This weekend the Cascades get a much needed break as they prepare for their next big task; a three-game playoff at home against the University of Calgary Dinos.
