Prince George, BC – The Timberwolves fought until the end but could not overcome the No.7 UFV Cascades at the Northern Sport Centre Friday night. The Cascades defeated the Timberwolves 79-63.

With a mix of inside and outside game the nationally-ranked Cascades were able to maintain their lead throughout the game. Forward Sarah Wierks (Chilliwack, BC) lead the Cascades with 19 points and eight rebounds. Courtney Bartel (Chilliwack, BC) put up 17 of her own while grabbing eight boards and Aieisha Luyken (Mission, BC) added another 16 to the Cascades' total.

Leading the Timberwolves was fifth year forward Mercedes VanKoughnett (Prince George, BC). VanKoughnett put up a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards, while Jen Bruce (Langley, BC) chipped in 14 points along with Emily Kaehn (Hixon, BC) who added 14 of her own.

The Timberwolves were first on the board with a bounce pass from Mercedes VanKoughnett (Prince George, BC) to Emily Kaehn (Hixon, BC). Remaining tough inside Jasprit Nijjar (Vancouver, BC) forced three turnovers inside the key alone, forcing UFV to shoot from the outside. The Cascades answered with points from behind the arc. Three first quarter threes kept the Cascades ahead of the Timberwolves by five heading into the second quarter.

With their biggest lead of the first half coming with 4:30 left in the second quarter, the Casades were able to open the gap to seven points before Timberwolves guard Jen Bruce (Langley, BC) stole the ball and drained a quick three. In a flash the Timberwolves trailed by a single basket once again. Under a minute to play and the Timberwolves turned the ball over creating a UFV break away, with one play left and the clock winding down a last effort shot from rookie guard Cassie Rerick (Prince George, BC) bounced off the rim and in at the buzzer to keep the Timberwolves within one basket. At half the Cascades led 41-38.

The Timberwolves' hard working defence appeared to wain at the start of the second half. The Cascades were able to go on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter before Sarah Robin (Prince Rupert, BC) drove to the basket hoping to start the Timberwolves off on a run. The Timberwolves worked to keep up with the Cascades, but the visitors seemed to find their groove. Quick ball movement and fast break chances propelled UFV to 15 points over the Timberwolves before a resurgence of UNBC's offence left the Timberwolves trailing 61-54 heading into the final quarter.

The Cascades did not slow down in the fourth quarter, a pair of threes from Aieisha Luyken (Mission, BC) and fast break points from Courtney Bartel (Chilliwack, BC) helped to maintain their lead over the Timberwolves. In the final quarter UFV outscored the Timberwolves 18-9 enabling them to finish the game with their biggest lead, 16 points. At the end of the fourth the Cascades finished over the Timberwolves 79-63.

Both the No.7 UFV Cascades and the UNBC Timberwolves will return to the Northern Sport Centre again tomorrow night. The Game is set to tipoff at 6 p.m. and will be streamed live at canadawest.tv.