Two days after his team’s stunning playoff upset of the Winnipeg Wesmen, University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball coach Al Tuchscherer was still having a hard time coming to grips with his program’s new reality.The seventh-seeded Cascades, after sweeping the best-of-three series against the No. 2-seeded Wesmen, are off to the Canada West Final Four this weekend in Saskatoon.And regardless of where they finish at the Final Four, the Cascades are going to the CIS National Regional Championship Tournament. The new national playoff format calls for the Canada West champ to advance directly to the Final Eight in Windsor March 18-20, while the second- through fourth-place finishers travel to NCAA-style regional events against teams from other conferences. “I’m not even sure I’ve completely wrapped my head around it,” Tuchscherer told The News on Monday morning. “It’s huge. It’s where we envisioned ourselves being, but I wasn’t sure it was going to happen this year.”The Wesmen, ranked No. 9 nationally, were heavily favoured after finishing second in the conference with a 20-4 record. But the Cascades (12-12 in the regular season) executed the game plan to perfection, playing near-flawless defence and moving the ball unselfishly on offence.Rookie centre Sarah Wierks had a huge weekend for the Cascades, going for double-doubles both nights – 18 points and 16 rebounds Friday, and 10 points and 13 boards Saturday. Aieisha Luyken tied Wierks for team-high scoring honours in Game 1, while Tessa Klassen’s 19 points paced the Cascades in Saturday’s clincher.”Even though we’re a young team, the girls have really matured,” Tuchscherer said, alluding to the fact that all but two players on his roster are in their first or second seasons of eligibility. “They’ve taken their games to another level.”The Cascades open the Final Four on Friday against the host Saskatchewan Huskies, the top-ranked team in Canada. DOERKSEN, SPARTANS FEND OFF CASCADES’ UPSET BIDThe UFV men’s basketball team saw its own upset bid fall short, as the Trinity Western Spartans rallied for a 2-1 series win.The Cascades shocked the Spartans with a 81-80 victory in Thursday’s Game 1. But TWU, ranked No. 4 nationally, battled back with wins on Friday (86-69) and Saturday (89-75). “I feel like we took them to the limit in this series, winning the first night and having them on the ropes at times on the weekend,” Cascades head coach Barnaby Craddock said. “I think some respect should go to the young men in our program, and I don’t think there has been a lot of respect. Coming into this series, most people felt like it wasn’t going to be particularly close.”Abbotsford native Jacob Doerksen had a monster game for the Spartans in Saturday’s clincher, racking up 32 points and 18 rebounds. Joel Friesen (20 points), Sam Freeman (19) and Zeon Gray (17) led the UFV attack.Doerksen, in his fifth and final year of eligibility, said his university basketball career flashed before his eyes after the Cascades’ stunning Game 1 win.”We underestimated them,” the Rick Hansen Secondary grad said of the Cascades. “They’re a great shooting team, and they shot the ball really well the last couple days. That loss in Game 1 really made us re-think what we were doing out there.”Saturday’s pivotal Game 3 was played with all the physical intensity of a rugby match, and the emotions reached a boiling point late in the third quarter. Off a UFV defensive rebound, Cascades forward Josh Kufske was trying to join the fast break when Trinity’s Kyle Coston, who had fallen to the floor, grabbed Kufske’s ankle. Kufske turned around and stomped on Coston’s head, earning an ejection.”I lost my cool a little bit,” Kufske admitted afterward. “It’s frustrating.”Craddock lavished praise on Doerksen, the Spartans’ superstar power forward.”I’ll be happy that he’s not back next year,” Craddock said with a chuckle. “He’s a phenomenal basketball player. He’s a class act as well, and I think he carried them through this weekend.”

Abbotsford News