Abbotsford, BC – The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women's basketball team overcame a seven-point deficit at the half to defeat the University of Calgary Dinos 62-59 in the Canada West Quarterfinal at the UFV Athletic Centre on Saturday. UFV's Julia Tuchscherer had a big night, falling just three assists, and three blocks short of a quadrouple double, as she helped lead the team to their second straight Canada West Final Four appearance.

"It's exciting right? To get back to the final four, it's a big deal," UFV head coach Al Tuchscherer said post-game. "We have been that team all year that has been outside of the top-10 nationally all season, and we believed that we belonged in that group."

"To play Calgary, they're a heck of a team and really athletic, but we thought we could play with them for sure."

It was a low scoring start to the game, with the teams tied at five after the opening five minutes, but both teams traded short runs to end the quarter with the Dinos holding a slim 17-15 lead.

Calgary opened up their biggest lead early in the second, with Sydney Millium laying it in before a UFV turnover gave Myriam Kone an easy bucket to go up 24-18. After capitalizing on a few Cascades turnovers late in the half, the Dinos took a 38-31 lead into the break.

Those turnovers were a huge story in the opening half, as Calgary scored 15 points directly from UFV giveaways, compared to just two for the Cascades.

The Cascades cleaned it up early in the third, opening the frame on a 9-0 run to take over the lead. The teams would trade that lead back and forth, before a Julia Tuchscherer block led to an Esther Allison triple to put UFV back in front. Allison followed that up with a block of her own to keep the momentum going, and despite a Mya Proctor layup, UFV took a three-point lead into the fourth.

Maddy Gobeil hit a triple midway through the fourth to give UFV a six-point margin with five minutes to go. Kone responded with a pair of free throws for the Dinos, but both teams locked it down defensively from there with neither team scoring over the next 3:39. 

After the teams traded buckets, Calgary's Proctor hit a triple to cut the UFV lead to just one with seven seconds remaining. The Dinos were forced to foul, and Maddy Gobeil hit both free throws to make it a three-point lead once again. Calgary had one final chance to tie it up, but Lilia Skumatova's shot caught the top of the backboard to seal the UFV win, 62-59.

"I think defensively we had a few mistakes, but we kept our identity and didn't give them any more than they average," Calgary Interim head coach Jhony Verrone explained after the game. "Our problem was definitely on offence in terms of capitalizing on the things they gave us."

UFV's J. Tuchscherer was a dominant force on the night, scoring 16 points, and adding 11 rebounds, seven assists, and seven blocks for the Cascades. Gobeil added 16 points, and rookie Miah Schuurman chipped in eight points.

Kone led the way for Calgary, scoring 16 points, while Proctor had 12, and Pollyanna Storie had 11. 

With the win, the Cascades will now travel to Saskatoon next week for a rematch of last season's Canada West semifinal with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.