By Kyle Balzer (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: November 16, 2011
This past Saturday evening, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams battled the University of Winnipeg Wesmen in early Canada West season action.
The women’s game started on a solid note with Nicole Wierks and Aieisha Luyken displaying great offensive skill and ability, which gave them the outright lead after the first quarter. The Wesmen came back in the second quarter, but thanks to hard team defence, the Cascades kept it close.
“The first half was definitely one of our better halves because our defence really held us in the game,” said Coach Al Tuchscherer, who is in his ninth year as head coach.
The score was tied 25-25 at the half. As the third quarter began, guard Courtney Bartel displayed some slick defence with four steals in three minutes of play. “She had some good energy tonight and it ended up being a very well-rounded game for us,” Tuchscherer said.
The ladies were able to seal the deal as freshman Kayli Marion-Sartori and veteran Tessa Klassen combined for a total of 13 points in the fourth quarter. The final score was 75-51.
Coach Tuchscherer was satisfied with his team’s effort, however he believes that there is room for improvement. “We’re not even close to where we want to be yet,” said Tuchscherer. “We need to share the ball more in the first half because we want to put 40 minutes together instead of playing solid basketball for only 20 minutes.”
The men’s game started as a defensive struggle until the final minutes of the first quarter, when the Cascades were able to convert some turnovers into easy points. Guard Sam Freeman nailed some key shots as the Cascades ended the first quarter leading by six. A solid second quarter continued the Cascades road to victory as Sheldon Bjorgaard hit a couple of three-pointers and veteran Mike James scored eight points in the paint.
The score at halftime was 47-35. A third quarter scare came when Winnipeg got to within seven points, but forward Jasper Moedt made sure that was as close as they were going to get.
“Our post players were solid. They had a nice inside presence tonight and they gave us good field-goal percentages [75 per cent],” Coach Barnaby Craddock said. Aggressive offence took over the final 10 minutes of play as the Wesmen lost two of their key players, which easily allowed the men in green to pull off a 20-point victory, 89-69.
Coach Craddock was happy with his team’s play, as this was a crucial victory. “We had just come off a tough loss at Thompson Rivers University, so getting this win definitely put the ship back on track and hopefully we can keep the winning streak up.”
You can continue to catch both the women and men in Canada West basketball action as they take on the UBC-O Heat this Friday and Saturday at the Envision Athletic Centre.
