The University of Saskatchewan Huskies showed up for warm-ups several minutes before the UFV Cascades and that early bird attitude continued in the first quarter of Saturday’s (Feb. 24) Canada West semi-final.
Huskies forward Carly Ahlstrom went five of five from the three-point line in that opening quarter and her Huskies led 20-5 midway into the first and never looked back to earn an 84-50 win.
doing it on the conference’s biggest stage 😤 @carlyahlstrom
— USask Huskies Women’s Basketball (@HuskieWBB) February 24, 2024
the Calgary kid has 22 first half points after connecting on her first six shots from long-range#HuskiePride | #PowerOfThePack pic.twitter.com/V47QheeT2f
Saskatchewan had a 31-12 advantage after one and the Cascades never closed the gap to less than 21 points for the remainder of the game.
Ahlstrom finished with 27 points on nine of 12 shooting and teammate Tea DeMong added 18 points. Huskies guard Gage Grassick added nine assists, eight rebounds, six steals and four points.
Saskatchewan shot 56.4 per cent from the field and shot an incredible 65.5 per cent in the first half. UFV could not stop the Huskies offence and their red-hot shooting.
Julia Tuchscherer opens the scoring for @UFVCascades, loud crowd this afternoon for the @CanadaWest semi-final at @goufv pic.twitter.com/Fx5lauxnIN
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) February 24, 2024
For the Cascades, it was a rough night shooting for the team’s top players. All-star guard Maddy Gobeil and forward Deanna Tuchscherer shot a combined four for 22. Julia Tuchscherer and Natalie Rathler both scored 11 points, with Gobeil collecting 10.
The Cascades grabbed just 21 rebounds as a team, with the Huskies recording 39.
UFV shot 35.8 per cent for the game, but were outhustled by Saskatchewan in second chance points as they were outscored 20-4. Fast break points were also lopsided for the Huskies at 19-4.
J. Tuchscherer has been the best UFV player so far, but Sask has done a great job clogging the middle and preventing anything from developing like on this play pic.twitter.com/C2oykBcpJ8
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) February 24, 2024
Saskatchewan was often packing the paint down low on defence and making it challenging for the Cascades players to score inside. Combine that with Cascades players making two of 17 from the three-point line and it’s a recipe for disaster for UFV.
The Huskies now advance to the CW final and they will take on the Alberta Pandas.
WBB | HUSKIES TO THE FINALS 🐶@HuskieAthletics were simply undeniable.
— Canada West (@CanadaWest) February 25, 2024
They spoil the party in the valley with an 84-50 semifinal victory over host UFV.
It'll be Saskatchewan vs Alberta for CW glory tomorrow at 2 p.m. PT. #WinTheWest pic.twitter.com/A5q18GC1Za
Alberta defeated Victoria 69-48 earlier on Saturday to punch their ticket to the final.
The Pandas were led by forward Claire Signatovich, who scored 22 points (11 for 16) and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Victoria was up 15-14 after one, but then Alberta took over in the second by outscoring the Vikes 19-4.
The Vikes top scorer was Abbotsford product Tana Pankratz, who poured in 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Alberta beats Victoria 68-49 and advance to the @CanadaWest final. They will play the winner of @UFVCascades and @HuskieWBB which starts at 3 pm pic.twitter.com/alwD5xQ2Hy
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) February 24, 2024
WBB | PANDAS BACK TO THE FINALS 🐼
— Canada West (@CanadaWest) February 24, 2024
The Alberta Pandas defeat Victoria 68-49 and will look to defend their CW title tomorrow afternoon!@BearsandPandas x @pandasbball #WinTheWest pic.twitter.com/1zGnEGxT0x
Alberta is also hosting the U Sports Nationals, which means that the top three finishers at the CW championships will receive a berth to the Nationals.
UFV takes on Victoria in the bronze game on Sunday (Feb. 25) at 11:45 a.m. The CW championship game will occur at 2 p.m.