The Huskies women’s basketball squad was eliminated from playoffs Saturday, Feb. 23. The Dogs lost 73-58 in the third and final game of their quarter-final series against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades at the Envision Athletics Centre in Abbotsford, B.C.

The home-side Cascades will now advance to the Canada West Final Four while the Dogs will travel back to Saskatoon and can look only to next season.

UFV came ready to play: the Cascades controlled the game out of the gate with superior defensive ability. They forced several Huskie turnovers to start the match, even setting a school playoff record by keeping the Huskies scoreless for the first five minutes and 17 seconds of the game.

Fraser Valley forced 14 Huskie turnovers in the first half of the game and led 35-23 at the break.

The Huskies seemed reenergized for the beginning of the second half. Nine quick points, all from beyond the arc, cut the Cascades’ lead to only five points.

After Fraser Valley head coach Al Tuchscherer called a timeout, the Cascades refocused and did not relinquish their lead for the remainder of the game. Their defence buckled down again and picked up another 13 steals in the second half.

On offence for the Cascades, Kayli Sartori led with 19 points, four rebounds and five assists on the night. Sarah Wierks chipped in 13 points and five rebounds for UFV.

The Huskies’ best shooter was Dalyce Emmerson, who racked up 18 points and six rebounds.  Kiera Lyons added 14 points, and Riley Humbert and Desarae Hogberg each chipped in with eight points.

Although the loss is tough for the Huskies, they are a young team with no graduating players, meaning all will be returning for next year’s campaign and another shot at making it further in the playoffs.

As for UFV, they move on to the Final Four tournament in Calgary. This marks the third straight year that Fraser Valley has made the tournament.

The number seven nationally ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies tied their conference quarter-final series 1-1 by defeating the visiting University of Fraser Valley Cascades 78-58 Saturday, Feb. 23 at the PAC.

The Huskies’ victory ensures the squad at least one more game as the two teams meet again on Sunday, Feb. 23 to play the tie-breaker.

After a first game upset in which UFV downed the Dogs 83-64, Saskatchewan needed a win to stay alive. The team put forward a better effort in game two.

Third-year San Diego, Calif. product Stephon Lamar led all players with a match-high 37 points.

Saskatchewan led 20-17 after the first quarter and started the second on a 6-0 point run. The Huskies maintained that six-point lead at the break, with the Cascades trailing 36-30.

The Dogs came back onto the court and continued their momentum with a strong third quarter. The Huskies outscored UFV 25-9 in the frame and the Dogs led 61-39 after three.

Fraser Valley did not give up, and even outscored the Huskies by two points in the final quarter, but the third-quarter gap was too much for the Cascades to match.

After shooting just 34 per cent in game one of the series, Saskatchewan improved to 40 per cent in game two and an impressive 46 per cent in the second half. Fraser Valley players sunk 35 per cent of their shots.

Lamar, the Canada West regular season leading scorer, was the player of the game. Meanwhile, teammate Ben Baker added 13 points and forward Patrick Burns battled for 13 rebounds.

Manjodh Dulay led the Cascades with 12 points while Kevon Parchment and James York each scored 10.

Tipoff for game three is 7 p.m. at the PAC. Both teams will be playing for their playoff futures as the winner will advance to the Canada West Final Four.

—
Photo: Calvin So