The UFV Cascades improved their record to 9-3 on Jan. 11, after sweeping their weekend of Canada West league play with victories over the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) Timberwolves and the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Wolfpack.
Fifth-year guard and offensive dynamo Maddy Gobeil, along with fourth-year forward and defensive stalwart Esther Allison, propelled the Cascades to a tightly contested 51-40 win over UNBC on Friday, Jan. 10. The Timberwolves are currently sixth in the Pacific division with a record of 3-7.
Gobeil recorded a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds, both game-highs, in addition to two assists. After becoming the program’s all-time leader in steals earlier this season, she tacked on two more to her record against the Timberwolves, as she continues another all-star calibre campaign. Allison picked up six rebounds as well as a game-high five blocks, two blocks short of Sarah Wierks for the program record.
Allison explained her defensive philosophy post-game.
“Defence is one of the areas that I like to strive in,” she said. “Especially when you get beat [and] they think that they have you — and you come out of nowhere, and get back on defence. It’s fun getting back in transition to get big stops. Not giving up on the play is huge.”
Head coach Al Tuchscherer has seen a tremendous amount of growth from Allison over her career.
“Really proud of Esther. She’s had a really good year this year. She’s been grinding it out for the first three years, and become more and more of a core player for us. She’s one of those key players for us at both ends of the floor. She’s athletic. She’s long. She’s got a knack for getting a hand on shots.”
The Cascades offence struggled to get in sync, particularly in the first half of their first game back after the winter break. Julia Tuchscherer, one of the division’s most dominant post-players, struggled knocking off the rust, getting into just 10 minutes of action on Friday.
Coach Tuchscherer wasn’t concerned about anyone’s individual offence heading into Saturday’s matchup with the Wolfpack.
“We need J. [She’s] really central to our success … a big part of it. Luckily, we didn’t need that tonight. I thought [Madison] Storme stepped up and did a good job backing her up tonight as well. J will be alright; she’ll bounce back.”
Third-year guard Bernie Leda led the way for the Cascades on Saturday, as they cruised to a 67-23 victory over a rebuilding TRU squad. Leda scored a career-high 18 points, shooting 54 per cent from the field and 50 per cent on eight shots from beyond the arc. The loss added to a challenging season for the Wolfpack, as they remain at the bottom of the division, with an 0-12 record.
Leda also collected seven rebounds in her career-game. Coach Tuchscherer was pleased to see her cutting and driving to the hoop with conviction.
“Bern was awesome tonight,” he said. “Good to see. She’s been struggling with her offence, so to see her go off a little bit tonight was good. She’s a pretty dynamic player for us.”
Saturday also marked a return-to-form for Julia Tuchscherer as she shot an efficient five-for-six from the field, notching 13 points and eight boards.
Coach Tuchscherer saw more intent from his starter on Saturday.
“I think J had to stew on last night’s game a little bit. She came back here today, and I thought she had a real purpose in her game. She’s one of the key kids on our team that can really draw a rotation on the defence, and gain an advantage. She’s a really good passer and a good defender … so it was good to see her assert herself today.”
The Cascades take on the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds next at the War Memorial Gymnasium in a battle of the Pacific’s top two teams.
“UBC is going to be a good matchup for us,” said Leda. “We always focus on getting better after every game. I feel like we learned a lot from this game and playing the Cascade way so our focus is to reset. Go into practice, play hard, bring positivity … hustle, and that’s how we’re gonna reset for the next game.”
