Vancouver, BC - The UBC Thunderbirds head to the Envision Athletic Centre in Abbotsford, home of the Fraser Valley Cascades, as the two teams battle it out to secure first place in the Canada West's Pacific division. This weekend pits the UBC women against the 6
th ranked team in the nation, Fraser Valley - who until their recent road trip east remained the only unbeaten side in the conference.
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Despite coming off two straight losses, the Cascades remain a fearsome unit. They are dominant at home and already sit at 4-0 in their own gym this season and went 10-1 in the Envision Athletic Centre last year, their only loss coming in overtime against Thompson Rivers. They also had the Thunderbirds number last season as they won twice here in Vancouver on back-to-back nights. Make no mistake this is UBC's biggest test of the season thus far.
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Leading the Cascades in scoring is Kaylie Sartori who is currently averaging 10 points a game. She has a strong supporting cast with five other teammates averaging upwards of eight points. The Wierks sisters are vital members of the rotation in what they provide in terms of scoring and rebounding, and they have a specialist 3-point shooter in Natalia Gavryliuk to come off the bench and provide outside scoring.
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UBC definitely have the weapons to combat the Cascades and have shown great improvement in their latest winning streak of three games. Their away record is currently the only major thing holding them back from becoming one of the top teams in the country. In
Kris Young they have the reigning conference MVP and a sure-fire number one offensive option. She sits fourth in the Canada West for scoring and leads her team in steals and blocks as well.
Harleen Sidhu has joined the team this year and provided the dominant low-post presence that all good teams need. She sits third in the conference in rebounds (10.0 per game) and fourth in scoring (16.0 per game). Add in their fellow three starters of
Cassandra Knievel,
Adrienne Parkin and
Maggie Sundberg and the additional hustle, ball movement and outside shooting that each of them bring and they have an experienced well-rounded unit.
Stephanie Bell provides valuable minutes coming off the bench, she offers solid defense and plenty of energy but it is her efficiency on offense that is her greatest asset. Her field goal percentage of 0.581 is good for third in the conference.
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These final two games before the festive break are huge. If either team was to win both they would ensure themselves a four point cushion at the top of the division and bragging rights over Christmas. These two teams are also highly likely to meet again in the playoffs, only adding extra incentive to this weekend's fixture.
Game times are 6:00 pm on Friday night and 5:00 pm on Saturday at Fraser Valley.
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