A historic night for
Taylor Claggett ended with a victory for her University of the Fraser Valley Cascades.
The fifth-year power forward from Mission, B.C. set a new Canada West conference record for career free throws on Friday evening in Prince George, B.C., sinking her 455th and 456th midway through the second quarter to surpass the previous mark of 455 established by Saskatchewan Huskies great Sarah Crooks.
Claggett went 11-for-12 from the line for the night, on her way to tying her career high with 30 points in the Cascades' 79-67 triumph over the host UNBC Timberwolves. She added 15 points and four assists to help UFV boost its record to 7-4, while dropping the T-Wolves to 3-8.
The two teams wrap up the weekend series on Saturday (5 p.m.,
CanadaWest.tv).
"Canada West has a storied history of some of the best players to come out of this country, so when you get to the top of one of those lists, it's pretty special," Cascades head coach
Al Tuchscherer said, reflecting on Claggett's milestone moment. "It's a big moment for that person and that program.
"In the history of our program, obviously Taylor goes down as one of our real special players. She has a real elite style to her game, and she's as tough to stop as anybody."
In the first quarter, it was the Cascades who came out firing. Claggett asserted herself in the post and the Timberwolves were unable to generate much in the way of offence, as UFV held a 23-10 lead after ten minutes.
In the second quarter, with physicality ramping up, UNBC head coach Sergey Shchepotkin was ejected after voicing his displeasure at a non-call after T-Wolves star Madison Landry drove to the basket. That seemed to light a fire under the hosts, as they went on a 11-2 run. Maria Mongomo and Landry were the story, getting to the rim for easy baskets, and the half ended in a 42-42 deadlock.
The third quarter was highly contested as the Cascades utilized sublime ball movement for good looks, while a shorthanded UNBC squad battled for every inch. After
Alexis Worrell and
Natalie Rathler made big shots late in the frame, a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Claggett to put the visitors up 62-58.
UFV picked up its play in the fourth quarter, as star rookie
Deanna Tuchscherer made a trio of baskets to stretch the visitors' lead to 10 points. UNBC were unable to convert on their looks, and the Cascades kept them at bay down the stretch.
"It's a nice cherry on top of the win, but it's not something I set out to do," Claggett said of her free throw record. "It's just been a by-product of the way I play. I just keep attacking the hoop hard, and that's what's come out of it."
Tuchscherer added 15 points and five boards, and
Nikki Cabuco energized the Cascades with four steals.
For the T-Wolves, Mongomo had 24 points, 12 rebounds, seven steals and four assists, while Landry had 24 points and six rebounds. Emma vanBruinessen added six points and 14 rebounds in defeat.
- with files from Rich Abney / UNBC Athletics
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