Cascades cruise by Cougars on Friday night

Max Campbell, Mount Royal Cougars Sports Information

CALGARY, AB – The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades downed the Mount Royal Cougars 70-53 in women's basketball action at Kenyon Court to kick off the final weekend of the 2015-16 regular season.

Leading the way for the Cascades was Kayli Sartori, as the seventh-leading scorer in the nation scored 16 points while adding seven assists and six rebounds. Mount Royal struggled shooting the ball, making only 29.6 per cent of their attempts.

An early first-quarter steal by the Cougars' Drew Knox led to a put-back score from Yasmene Saghir. On the following possession, Abby Gibb's three-point shot from the corner was nothing but net, tying the game at six with barely four minutes gone in the opening frame. When the quarter came to a close, Fraser Valley had posted 15 rebounds while Mount Royal scored five points off a trio of Cascade turnovers.

The Cougars recorded their fifth team foul before the halfway-mark of the second and struggled mightily on the offensive end of the court up until the final seconds of the half. Angela Driscoll spun in traffic to bank home two points just as the horn sounded, giving Mount Royal a 28-27 lead in the process.

With UFV beginning the third on a 19-0 run, Driscoll finally put points on the board for the Cougars with a lay-up and subsequent made foul shot. The former Olds College Bronco then posted back-to-back steals for uncontested scores, but Mount Royal was eventually outscored by a 25-11 margin in the 10-minute period.

Becky Nash found Melissa Moore cutting through the key in the fourth quarter for her successful first field goal of the night. But Shayna Cameron's floater in the lane essentially sealed the win for Fraser Valley, with the Cascades inching closer to locking up the third and final playoff spot in Canada West's Explorer Division.

The now 2-17 Cougars sit 10 games back of the 12-7 Cascades, who have now won five consecutive games after sweeping back-to-back series against the UBC Okanagan Heat and the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack. 

Tomorrow night's season finale for Mount Royal starts at 5:00 pm as the Cougars will look to head into next year on a winning note.