ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – The UBC Okanagan Heat women's basketball team suffered a pair of defeats at the hands of the UFV Cascades on the road this past weekend, falling 76-63 on Friday night before losing 84-75 in overtime on Saturday afternoon.
Facing a strong Cascades team that was ranked fifth in the preseason coaches poll, the Heat played UFV close on the opening night of the weekend doubleheader. After winning the second and third quarters, UBCO found themselves trailing by just two points heading to the fourth.
However, the host Cascades were able to pull away in the final 10 minutes as they hit 5-of-6 three-point attempts to come away with the victory.
Seniors
Kelsey Falk of Vernon, B.C., and
Lily Pink of Kelowna, B.C., led the way for the Heat in the weekend opener. Falk recorded her first double-double of the season, and 19
th of her career, as she posted a team-high 13 points along with 10 rebounds.
As for Pink, she added 12 points and five rebounds while shooting an efficient 3-of-4 from the field, and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
Rookie guard
Kiana Kaczur of Kamloops, B.C., chipped in with 10 points off the bench, her first time hitting double figures in her young Heat career.
On Saturday, the Heat came out strong against the Cascades and opened up a 12-point lead at halftime. However, UFV would erase that advantage in the third quarter, forcing the Heat to play catch up in the fourth.
The final frame in regulation would come down to the final play, where the Heat ran an in-bounds play for Falk, who hit a turn-around jumped at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
In the extra frame, the Cascades Deanne Tuchscherer would show her quality, hitting all four of her shots to give her team the win.
Rookie guard Tsuzki Tsuzuki of Calgary, paced the offence for the Heat, finishing with a team-high 17 points, including six in overtime, along with three rebounds and two steals.
Lauren Foullong of Orangeville, Ont., added 12 points while Pink hit double-figures for the second-straight contest, finishing with 11 points.
"Over the last two weeks, we have really grown as a team," commented head coach
Bobby Mitchell after the weekend action. "We didn't get the results we wanted this weekend but played out brand of basketball showed great mental fitness in tough situations. We will take the lessons learned this weekend back with us and continue to work towards putting four quarters of basketball together."
The weekend results leave the Heat with a 2-2 record, sitting in fourth-place in the Pacific division, while the Cascades move to 3-1, tied with the Victoria Vikes for second in the division.
UBCO will return to action on Friday night, November 15, when they tipoff a weekend doubleheader against the Trinity Western Spartans (1-3). Game one will get underway at 5 p.m. and tickets to the game can be purchased at the door.
