After splitting the first two games of their quarter-final playoff series, the Huskies women’s basketball team and the University of Fraser Valley Cascades are set for game three tonight.

The Huskies entered the postseason with a 13-9 record and fourth seed in the Canada West Prairie Division. A crossover playoff draw forced the Dogs to travel to UFV’s Envision Athletic Centre in Abbotsford, B.C. to take on the Cascades in the opening round of playoffs. The Cascades finished the regular season first place in the Pacific Division, having lost only four games.

UFV won the opening game of the best-of-three series 65-58 on Feb. 21. UFV’s Aieisha Luyken led with a game-high 16 points while teammate Kayli Sartori drained 15 points of her own. The offensive pair outmatched the Huskies defence.

The second game of the series was Friday, Feb. 22 and the Huskies needed a win to stay alive in the postseason. The defence for the green and white held off the Cascades’ offensive power players from game one. Luyken and Sartori scored just 12 and nine points respectively, while the Huskies had three players finish scoring in double digits.

Second-year forward Dalyce Emmerson led the Huskies with 16 points while Ryley Humbert put up 15 and Kelsey Trulsrud added 10 for the Dogs. Ten different shooters netted points for the Huskies by the end of the game.

The Dogs’ turnaround in game two led the team to a 67-56 victory and forced a third and final game.

Game three tips off tonight at the Envision Athletic Centre at 7 p.m. The winner will move on to the Canada West Final Four tournament.

The Huskies men’s basketball team lost 83-64 to the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in game one of the squads’ Canada West quarter-final playoff series Friday, Feb. 22 at the PAC.

Thanks to their first-place finish in the Prairie Division, the Huskies are hosting the crossover series with the fourth-place Pacific Division Cascades. However, it was the Cascades who looked like the number one team Friday night.

An exciting opening half saw the lead change back and forth. UFV led 18-9 midway through the first quarter after four early three-point baskets. However, the Dogs closed out the first quarter with a 15-4 point run and led by three after 10 minutes.

The Huskies led by as many as eight points in the second quarter before the Cascades rallied to tie the game in the final minute of the first half. Then, with the clock counting down to the last second, UFV’s Kevon Parchment drained a buzzer beater to give his team a 43-40 lead at the half.

The second half of the game was not as closely matched. The Cascades sunk 55 per cent of their shots to the Huskies’ meager 24 per cent in the final two frames. UFV outscored the Dogs 27-10 in the third quarter and kept up their 20-point lead for much of the fourth.

Sam Freeman notched a game-high 26 points for the Cascades and went 6-for-7 beyond the arc. Kyle Grewal and Parchment added 20 and 15 points respectively.

The Dogs were led by third-year guard Andrew Henry’s 21 points. Meanwhile Stephon Lamar had 19 points and Ben Baker finished with 10.

Down 1-0 in the series, the Huskies will need to put together a complete game and win the next two if they want to move on. But the Cascades can crush the Huskies’ playoff aspirations tonight if they win. Game two tips off at the PAC at 7 p.m.

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Photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf