ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - A 24-point opening quarter propelled the University of Calgary Dinos to a 72-54 victory over the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in Canada West women's basketball action Friday at Envision Athletic Centre.
BOX SCORE
The Cascades out-scored the Dinos 10-9 in a sluggish second quarter, and put up a valiant effort in the final quarter, scoring 18-points, but Calgary held on for its second win in three games.
“I thought we were playing one of the elite teams in Canada West, and in Canada really. It was an awesome opportunity for our team to see what those teams are all about,” said Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer.
“You could see we weren't used to playing at their pace, and the tempo they wanted really dictated that most of the game. We had a lot of turnovers (30, to Calgary's 19). It's one of those games we need to learn from, to understand other teams when they come at us hard. We need to be able to deal with that.”
The Dinos put enormous pressure on Fraser Valley early, forcing the Cascades into foul trouble from which they could not recover. Calgary had 26 opportunities from the free throw line, and was good on 17, while Fraser Valley only went to the line six times, making good on five of those chances.
“I felt them (Fraser Valley) getting frustrated. We got them into some foul trouble, which always works to a teams favour,” said Calgary head coach Shawnee Harle. “I said before the game I wanted us to be relentless and I felt we accomplished that. I have a very young group, and teaching them to compete at this level is important. It's not high school anymore, and I thought my players responded well tonight.”
Calgary had four players record double digits, with Megan Lang's 15 points leading the way.
Fraser Valley had just one player score double digits. Fifth-year guard Carmella Silvestri, coming off an ankle injury which forced her to miss opening weekend, was good on six-of-eight from the floor and four-of-six from three-point range for a game-high 16-points.
Calgary out-rebounded Fraser Valley 17-8 in the offensive zone, and 43-42 in total.
Heather Boer had a game-high 12 rebounds for Fraser Valley, but got into foul trouble and was not as effective down the stretch.
The Cascades, who split games with Thompson Rivers WolfPack on opening weekend, fell to 1-2 on the season.
UFV will host the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns Saturday night, while Calgary makes the trip to Kamloops to visit the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.
-30-
