The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades men’s and women’s basketball teams begin their postseason journeys on Friday (Feb. 17).
Both teams will be hitting the road for play-in games, as the women travel to Edmonton to take on the UNBC Timberwolves at noon. The winner of that game then takes on the University of Alberta Pandas in a Canada West quarterfinal on Saturday (Feb. 18) at noon.
UFV and UNBC played twice this season, with the Cascades winning both games. The Cascades posted a 68-57 win on Nov. 18 and they beat the Timberwolves 78-45 on Nov. 19. Both of those games were in Abbotsford.
The men head to Winnipeg to play the Brandon University Bobcats at 3 p.m. The winner of that game advances to the quarterfinal round to take on the Winnipeg Wesmen on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The play-in game will be the first time this season that the men have played Brandon. The two schools have not played each other since Jan. 5, 2019 when the Cascades defeated the Bobcats 83-73 in Abbotsford. They also played on Jan. 4, 2019, with the Cascades earning a 74-66 win.
WBB | In for a wild finish tonight. Nikki Cabuco with another 3!#weclimbweconquer pic.twitter.com/TLmfcXzXyU
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) February 11, 2023
The women concluded the regular season at 14-6 after splitting a pair of games against the top-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday (Feb. 10) and Saturday (Feb. 11).
Friday’s game was a spectacular 83-70 win for UFV and they were led by star guard Maddy Gobeil, who collected 33 points, four rebounds and four steals.
She took over the game with under four minutes left. The third-year guard scored 10 of the game’s next 13 points to put her team up 77-70 and lock up the victory. The Cascades outscored the Huskies 27-18 in the final quarter to earn the win.
Saskatchewan responded on Saturday with a 73-62 win. The Huskies started out hot with a 23-13 lead after one and never trailed. Gobeil scored 18 points and forward Natalie Rathler added eight points and 10 rebounds.
WBB | Maddy Gobeil with the hoop and the harm, for the three point play!#weclimbweconquer pic.twitter.com/euX25x8KMK
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) February 12, 2023
The men’s team came up big with a sweep over the Huskies on Friday and Saturday to clinch a playoff spot.
UFV dominated the first half on Friday, outscoring Saskatchewan 49-34 to cruise to the 94-73 win. The lead changed just once the entire game.
Dylan Kinley led the Cascades with 20 points, while Dario Lopez added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Saturday’s game was more competitive and was highlighted by a U Sports record-setting performance by forward Matthias Klim. The Chilliwack product picked up 12 blocks to establish the new mark. He also collected five points and five rebounds in an 83-79 UFV win.
An incredible 1️⃣2️⃣ blocks for Matthias Klim tonight in the Cascades MBB victory over Saskatchewan! 🔥#weclimbweconquer pic.twitter.com/Z5uQD4xnv8
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) February 12, 2023
“I’ve always taken pride in my defence, and I had to get it done for Courtney [Anderson],” Klim said. “Being able to help the team in that way and push ourselves to a victory just feels amazing. I think if we play strong defence we can stick with any team in the conference, so this is just another step towards that.”
Anderson scored a team-high 20 points in the win. Kinley added 19 points and nine rebounds.
The men finished at 9-11 for the season and face a Brandon team that went 12-8.
For more visit, gocascades.ca.