WBB Semifinal Preview
Host UFV clashes with Saskatchewan, Alberta takes on Victoria
Article by Brian Swane, special to CW
Feb. 24, 2024 - After an exciting first two days of action at the 2024 Canada West women’s basketball championship at the UFV Athletic Centre in Abbotsford, the final four teams are set and the field couldn’t be more intriguing.
There’s the defending champions, the Alberta Pandas.
There’s the squad that topped this season’s standings, the Saskatchewan Huskies.
There’s the home town favourites, the UFV Cascades.
And there’s the Cinderellas of the tournament, the Victoria Vikes.
Each of these teams has a compelling story, but only one can emerge as the Canada West women’s basketball champions of 2024. In the semifinal round on Saturday, Alberta takes on Victoria while Saskatchewan plays UFV. The hardware will be handed on Sunday, with the bronze medal game beginning at 11:45 a.m. PT, followed by the gold medal game at 2 p.m. PT.
Fans can catch all Canada West playoff actions live and on-demand at Canada West TV.
Alberta has drawn on its championship experience to get through the first two rounds of the tournament, defeating the Mount Royal Cougars 59-53 to advance to the quarter-finals, where the Pandas held off the Calgary Dinos 50-43 in a rematch of last year’s championship final. The veteran Pandas have now won five consecutive Canada West playoff games, going back to last year.
The Vikes are the team nobody wants to play right now; just ask the Lethbridge Pronghorns and UBC Thunderbirds, who both were upset by Victoria in the play-in and quarter-final round, respectively. Including the regular season, the Vikes have now won eight straight games, continuing a remarkable turnaround after starting the season 0-7.
Saskatchewan has been the class of Canada West since opening night in November, holding at least a share of first place every week of the season. The Huskies hungry to reclaim the Valerie Girsberger Trophy after having their four-year reign as Canada West champs ended last year, and advanced to the semi-finals for a 10th straight postseason by beating the UBC Okanagan Heat 74-60 in the quarter-finals.
There’s no place like home for the Cascades, who thrilled their fans with a 62-53 triumph over the Regina Cougars in the quarter-finals on Thursday to advance to the semi-final round for the first time in 10 years. The Cascades were near unbeatable at the UFV Athletic Centre during the regular season, going 9-1 with all but one victory by at least 13 points.
No. 6 Alberta Pandas (14-6 regular season, 2-0 playoffs) vs. No. 10 Victoria Vikes (10-10 regular season, 2-0 playoffs), 1 p.m. PT
- Regular season head-to-head:
Did not play
- Who to watch:
- Claire Signatovich (Alberta, fourth year, forward) had five blocks in Alberta’s win against Calgary after being named 2023-24 Canada West Defensive Player of the Year.
- Makena Anderson (Victoria, first year, guard/forward) won the Canada West Rookie of the Year award for 2023-24 after averaging 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
No. 1 Saskatchewan Huskies (19-1 regular season, 1-0 playoffs) vs. No. 4 UFV Cascades (17-3 regular season, 1-0 playoffs), 3 p.m. PT
- Regular season head-to-head:
Did not play
- Who to watch:
- Gage Grassick (Saskatchewan, third year, guard) was selected as a Canada West First Team All-Star after averaging 4.0 assists with a 2.1:1 assist to turnover ratio in 2023-24.
- Maddy Gobeil (UFV, fourth year, guard) was a Canada West First Team All-Star selection after averaging 17.7 points to rank second in the conference this season.