Game Information
 
Date: Friday, Nov. 2 & Saturday, Nov. 3
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Sasaktoon, BC
Venue:  Ron and Jane Graham Centre Court in the PAC
Watch: Canadawest.tv
Get in the action: Tickets

DOWNLOAD GAME NOTES
 
SASKATOON - The Huskies opened up their 2018-19 Canada West campaign with a close loss at the hands of the Thunderbirds in Vancouver this past weekend, but the team rebounded with a gritty 70-60 victory on Saturday night, to move to 1-1 on the season. Saskatchewan opened the season as the fifth ranked team in the nation and will be looking to get back on track on home court this weekend.
 
Fraser Valley will travel to Saskatoon with a 2-0 record, as they defeated Thompson Rivers in back-to-back games to begin their season. Despite the Cascades being ranked 13th in the preseason coach's poll, they handled the Wolfpack with ease, as they picked up 62-50 and 58-44 victories. Taylor Claggett led the way for Fraser Valley in both games, as she tallied 21 and 19 point performances.
 
The Huskies and Cascades last matchups were on Nov. 4 and 5 in Abbotsford during the 2016-17 season. Saskatchewan opened the series with a 53-44 victory over Fraser Valley. However, the Cascades bounced back and defended home court during the second half of the back to back, defeating the Huskies 59-48.
 
Five Things
 
1: The Huskies will play their first regular season game on the newly refurbished Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court at the PAC. 

2: Last season's leading scorer Sabine Dukate failed to skip a beat, as she led the Huskies in scoring in their season opener. Dukate racked up 20 points off 8-22 shooting, while adding four steals and two assists. 

3: The Huskies 2018-19 recruiting class brought in two freshmen who each have international experience. Ashley de Sousa Martins and Carly Ahlstrom won silver medals with the Canadian National Team at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship this past summer in Mexico City. 

4: The Huskies hold a 14-7 record against the Cascades in program history. 

5: Fraser Valley struggled away from Abbotsford last season, as the team finished with a 3-8 record in road games. 
 
By the Numbers
 
1 – The Huskies were voted the number one team in the pre-season Canada West coaches poll.
 
4 – Saskatchewan will enter this season chasing their fourth Canada West Championship in six seasons.
 
13 - Katriana Philipenko scored a career-high 13 points off the bench in Saturday's win over the Thunderbirds, as the second-year guard knocked down 3-8 from three-point range.
 
121 – Lisa Thomaidas has a 121-25 record in Canada West regular season play over her past seven seasons as head coach of the Huskies.
 
Scouting the Cascades
 
After an 8-12 season in 2017-18 which saw the Cascades qualify for the post season for the third consecutive season. Fraser Valley has not missed the playoffs since the Canada West moved to its current playoff format.
 
Al Tuchscherer returns for his 17th season in charge of the Cascades, as the veteran bench boss will aim to advance his team past the play-in round, where Fraser Valley lost to Victoria in the 2017-18 post season.
 
The Cascades face key losses, as both the team's leaders in points and assists have departed from the program. Shayna Litman averaged 17.2 points per game in her fifth and final season at Fraser Valley, while the team also faces the loss of Sara Simovic, a guard from Nanaimo, B.C, who led the team who led the team with 2.8 assists per game in 2017-18.
 
Taylor Clagget, a fourth-year forward, led the team in rebounds per game with 9.7 last season, while adding 13.8 points per game. Clagget will be counted upon to fill the basket this season on a young Cascades team.