Chilliwack’s Sarah Wierks is officially retired from CIS sports after playing her last game with the University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball team.
Wierks and company lost 80-65 to the Regina Cougars Saturday night at Abbotsford’s Envision Athletic Centre.
Regina completed a sweep of a best-of-three opening round playoff series.
The Cascades trailed for much of the evening, but never quit battling. They drew to within 56-52 early in the fourth quarter after Nataliia Gavryliuk scored on a drop-step in the post and Shayna Litman nailed a baseline jumper on consecutive possessions.
But the Cougars, coming off a 74-56 victory in Friday’s Game 1, responded with a 9-0 run highlighted by a three-pointer and a layup by Katie Polischuk to reclaim control.
Regina moves on to face the top-seeded UBC Thunderbirds in a quarter-final series that tips off Feb. 27 in Vancouver, while UFV’s 2014-15 campaign is done.
“I was really pleased with the fight the girls had tonight,” Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer said afterward. “I said that to them after the game – you battle like that and you fight like that, it might not be the result you want, but you can leave somewhat satisfied.
Cascades third-year forward Katie Brink poured in a game-high 24 points, while Celeste Dyck and Shayna Litman notched 11 points apiece.
Tuchscherer called the 2014-15 edition of his squad “really enjoyable to work with.”
“In a lot of ways, they had some tough shoes to fill from last year’s (CIS bronze medal-winning) squad, coming in here and trying to carve out their own identity,” he said. “I thought they did a great job.”
See ufvcascades.ca
