The University of the Fraser Valley women's basketball team faced a stiff test on Saturday evening from a UBC Okanagan squad desperate for its first win of the season.
 
But big nights from Taylor Claggett and Katelyn Mallette allowed the Cascades to pull away in the fourth quarter for a 72-59 victory, and UFV (7-5) heads into the Christmas break on a four-game win streak.
 
Claggett had yet another standout performance in a season full of them – the fourth-year forward from Mission, B.C. poured in 26 points in exceedingly efficient fashion (9-of-16 from the field, 8-of-8 from the free throw line). She's currently third in Canada West scoring, averaging 19.8 points per game.
 
Mallette, meanwhile, came up huge in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of her 15 points in the final frame to seal the victory.
 
Brianna Falk paced the Heat (0-12) with 17 points, and UBCO point guard Vanessa Botteselle had 11 points and seven assists with just one turnover.
 
"You've got to give credit to UBCO – they came out really energized tonight, and they weren't backing down from anything," Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer noted. "They played us super-tough for three and a half quarters."
 
The Cascades, 73-48 winners over the Heat on Friday, got off to a horrendous start in Saturday's rematch. They coughed up nine turnovers in the first quarter, and found themselves trailing 17-11 after 10 minutes.
 
UFV remedied its turnover woes from that point, surrendering just nine the entire rest of the game. They came through with an outstanding second quarter, outscoring the Heat 29-17 to grab a 40-34 advantage at the half. Back-to-back triples from Kate Head and Abby Zawada kick-started the comeback, and Claggett racked up 13 points in the frame.
 
The Heat, though, would not flicker on this night. The Cascades appeared poised to pull away in the third quarter, stretching the lead to eight after a Claggett jump shot. But UBCO's Jordan Korol answered with a bucket on the next possession to ignite a 7-1 run, and the Heat would eventually draw even at 55-55 after a Botteselle layup with just under eight minutes left in the fourth.
 
Mallette took over at that point, though. She reeled off six straight points – a pair of free throws, a sweeping reverse layup, and a baseline spin move – and Amanda Thompson followed with a layup of her own to cap a 8-0 UFV run. UBCO's Falk answered with a layup, but Head swished a three-pointer on the Cascades' next trip, and Mallette followed with two more layups in succession to make it 70-57 with two minutes left and drain all suspense from the proceedings.

?? WBB | Heat had tied it up 55-55, but @mallette_kate scores six straight points, capped by this baseline spin, to put the Cascades ahead once again!

?? @goUFV 61
?? @UBCOHeat 55#GoCascades pic.twitter.com/Hpw2J9qTy8

— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) December 2, 2018

 
"She was unstoppable in the fourth quarter," Tuchscherer said of Mallette. "We kept feeding her the ball and feeding her the ball, and she just went to work down low. She gave us some separation finally in the game. It was a good moment for her, to see that she can do those sorts of things."
 
Head also had a strong performance, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Cascades, and Abby Zawada went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc to account for all nine of her points off the bench.
 
Claggett added eight rebounds and three assists to her game-high scoring output, and Tuchscherer noted that the veteran can beat teams "in so many different ways now."
 
"She's evolved her game so much – it's not just paint finishes anymore," he said. "In that third quarter, she really held us in there with a series of 10- to 15-foot jumpers, and those were huge because they were matching us basket for basket."
 
The next Canada West game action for the Cascades basketball teams comes Jan. 4-5, when they host the Brandon Bobcats at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.