A rainy Halloween in B.C.’s Lower Mainland didn’t dampen the competitiveness of any basketball being played at the Langley Events Centre this past weekend. Two eerily similar teams, the Trinity Western Spartans and the UFV Cascades, renewed acquaintances for the first time this season, with each team earning a split against their geographical rivals.
Spooky season might be behind us, but not before each team got a trick or treat based on their weekend’s work. We'll begin with the women's series.
Treat: TWU's three-point dominance
The Spartans came scorching out of the gate from the three-point line, nailing six of seven attempts in the first quarter and opening the contest on a 16-2 run. They were equally hot from the field, shooting 11-for-14 to build a lead of 29-17 that buried UFV.
Fourth-year forward Myrlaine Shelvey was sensational off the bench, hitting three of four from downtown and six of seven from the field for 15 points. She didn't miss a single shot until the fourth quarter. The Langley, B.C., native was just as impactful off the ball, with two rebounds and three steals.
TWU connected for 13 trey's on the night — the second highest single-game total ever achieved by the Spartans and one short of the program record set against Regina in 2009. They shot a remarkable 50 per cent as a team from beyond the arc and compiled 21 assists, compared to just nine for the Cascades.
"One of the challenges that we faced in the last few games is having a little bit of a lull in one of the quarters offensively, and I thought that we moved the ball really well to prevent that from happening," said Spartans head coach Cheryl Jean-Paul.
"It was really nice to see the team effort today — getting the ball to the people that were knocking down shots and finishing well and celebrating each other and it's always fun when everyone is a part of the success. So the 21 assists is a number that stands out for me. I also think that, you know, we generated some offence through offensive rebounding and had some great second efforts."
As Jean Paul noted, the Spartans were equally impressive on the glass, out-rebounding UFV 41-29. Third-year forward, Savannah Vander Kooi led the way for TWU with a game high eight boards.
Another key fourth year veteran, Cassidy Buchanan, scored a game high 18 points in the Spartans' 75-52 win. Buchanan added two steals, four assists, and committed only one turnover.
"Everybody was finding the little niche that they needed to step into for us to have success, whether that was just making that extra pass and not over dribbling it, and hitting the open shooter, knocking down the shots," said Jean-Paul.
"Obviously, it's great ball movement, but it doesn't count unless that person knocks down that shot."
Trick: UFV's bench depth
UFV is a young team in transition, and despite the brilliance of Julia Tuchscherer, it doesn't have many scoring threats.
Miah Schuurman has been a versatile piece for the Cascades, posting efficient field goal percentages and stuffing the stat sheet in each game so far.
Fania Taylor has also troubled teams in bursts this season with her left handed shooting from deep — a promising sign for her development as a floor spacer.
The problem though, is that Tuchscherer, Schuurman and Taylor make up three-fifths of UFV's starting lineup.
The Cascades' bench put up just six points on Friday night compared with 31 for TWU. Despite a 60-51 victory on Saturday, the Cascades bench was still outscored 11-5, but the effect was mitigated by TWU's shooting cooling off after an otherworldly Halloween performance — and by UFV starter Bernie Leda chipping in with a 12 point-five rebound performance.
"Yesterday was pretty tough for us, but we took what we could from there, and we really got after it today," said Julia Tuchscherer of her team's defeat the night prior.
"Our focus was really on defence."
Based on their two wins so far against Victoria and Trinity, the template for this Cascades team relies on anywhere from 50 to 55 points from their starting unit and 5 to 7 from their bench. If UFV can get even six or seven points each from Carmen Folka or Kalie Saari, as they did against the Vikes, the Cascades might be able to continue sneaking up on teams this season.
Coach Tuchscherer believes that, as always, the Cascades' offence is built around defence. Splitting the weekend's series with the Spartans is huge for UFV, whose record currently sits at 2-2, as does TWU's.
"We talked to the girls about [how] this was an opportunity tonight to rebound from yesterday," Tuchscherer said. "We made a couple defensive adjustments and I thought those really served us well. The girls were really locked in on the defensive end of the floor."
Trick: TWU's momentum swings
UFV and TWU's men's teams both entered this weekend 0-2. The Spartans started better on Friday night, leading 12-11 in the first quarter before going on a 14-5 run to close out frame at 28-16.
The Spartans eased off the gas though, allowing the Cascades back into the game in the second quarter — a theme of this weekend's series. Second-year UFV forward Dilveer Randhawa scored eight points in the quarter, trimming the score to 41-37 TWU at halftime.
The Cascades sputtered again in the third quarter as TWU's veterans settled things down. David Mutabazi was instrumental to Trinity eking out its first win of this season, scoring five of his 16 points in the third, and tacked on 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Again, though, Trinity couldn't seal the deal. TWU's top guns, Marcus Shankar and Connor Platz, went cold despite having commendable impacts earlier. Trinity surrendered its most points of any quarter in the fourth (26), even falling behind 71-69 on a Randhawa three pointer.
After a flurry of lead changes, UFV called a timeout with a chance to win the game at the buzzer, only for Ismael Hernandez to be stuffed by Caleb Gremaud on multiple attempts at the game-tying basket.
"Gutsy win for us. It's always a great feeling to get the first win of the season," said Spartans head coach Trevor Pridie. "It's never easy playing UFV and sometimes you have to find ways to win ugly."
Platz scored a team-high 22 points on nine-for-16 shooting, adding nine rebounds, two assists, and four blocks as well. Gremaud made a huge impact off the bench for TWU. His game-saving blocks brought him to four on the night, along with four points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
"Connor [Platz] was dominant offensively and Caleb [Gremaud] came up huge when we needed it most," said Pridie.
"Those defensive plays down the stretch were incredible. Caleb [Gremaud] is such a difference maker for us. That's the kind of effort that wins close games."
Treat: Reinforcements on the way for UFV
Needing to find some resilience, UFV's focus heading into Saturday's rematch with TWU was on togetherness, starting in warmup. As cliché as it might sound, for a team that is missing star forward Dario Lopez and point guard Clay Kurtz, playing connected as a unit as been an obstacle as the Cascades find their footing.
UFV had a much better start on Saturday, keeping things even at 17–17 after one quarter.
"I challenged the starters in video that we've got to get off to better starts," said Enevoldson.
"We've got to look at tweaking a few things in warm up, so that we're getting to that second wind a lot earlier. Today was a little bit better, but still not good enough. Again, we have to revisit what we're doing in warm up, because obviously it's not working right now. Or, we might have to make a personnel switch."
Connor Platz continued his all-star-esque performance for TWU this season, piling up 22 points, nine rebounds and three assists, along with eight blocks, while Marcus Shankar posted 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. Shankar was wildly efficient, shooting eight-for-11 from the field and four-for-five from deep.
The game swung in the Cascades' favour in the third. Former Washingston State University Wildcat and new UFV recruit and Bennett O'Connor made a pair of clutch three pointers; one to tie the game at 50 and another to pull ahead 56-53. UFV outscored TWU 30-17 in the quarter.
It was a massive statement game for third-year UFV forward Marcus Flores, who had been sidelined with a concussion since last year. Flores took a team high 21 shots, amassing 18 points and 7 boards en route to the 86-79 win for UFV.
"One year ago to the date — Halloween — I hit my head [and] I was concussed for four months," Flores told OB.SESSED. "So to be back on the court and playing, I don't take that for granted."
Flores, like many UFV players, is still identifying his role. After an extended absence, he appears to be finding a niche in the post.
"He's probably been our most consistent worker," said Enevoldson.
"He's capable of being very explosive offensively, and a lot of guys don't think it, because he's a little bit — unorthodox, is the best way to put it — but I'm proud of him."
After being absent against UBC and Victoria opening weekend, fifth-year forward Matthias Klim returned to UFV’s rotation but still has some rust to shake off. It will be three to four weeks before Lopez returns to the lineup, and if the Cascades can stay in the mix until the Spaniard is back, they could be a dangerous playoff matchup.
Up next:
TWU heads to Prince George for a weekend series with UNBC on Nov. 7 and 8, while UFV take on UBCO at home in Abbotsford on Nov. 7.