With their dynamic forward duo setting the tone, the University of the Fraser Valley women's basketball team ran its win streak to six games in decisive fashion with an 83-57 win over the Mount Royal Cougars on Friday in Calgary.

Canada West scoring and rebounding leader Taylor Claggett went for 22 points and eight boards, and rookie standout Deanna Tuchscherer racked up a game-high totals for points (23) and assists (five) as the Cascades built an early double-digit lead and cruised from there.

UFV (11-4) and Mount Royal (5-10) wrap up the weekend series on Saturday (3 p.m. Pacific time, CanadaWest.tv).

"Taylor's really had a good year, and has led our team in a lot of ways," Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer said. "I'm really happy and proud of her for that. And then Deanna is just playing off of her, using the tools she has to support Taylor and free her up a little bit. The two of them are pretty hard to guard. They're both pretty unique players – not your conventional post players. They're a tough match-up for most teams."

Claggett and Tuchscherer got the Cascades off to a flying start, combining for UFV's first 18 points of the game as the visitors built a 19-9 lead after one quarter. UFV continued to cook offensively in the second, racking up 24 points in the quarter and taking a 42-23 advantage into halftime.
 

?? WBB | @taylorclaggett with the sweet crosscourt pass to @maddygobeil for the corner triple! ?????? pic.twitter.com/IQAbgnJ997

— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) January 25, 2020

In the third, Tuchscherer and Amanda Thompson hit triples early to maintain the Cascades' momentum, and they stretched the lead as high as 32 points (69-37) after Jessica Zawada drained a trey of her own late in the frame.

The Cougars caught fire from beyond the arc in the fourth, going 5-for-7 from the land beyond as they outscored UFV 16-14 over the final 10 minutes, but the outcome had already long since been decided.
 

?? WBB | Jessica Parker grabs the offensive board, and the Cascades swing it around for an open triple from @athoomps! The lead is up to 24 in the 3Q! ?????? pic.twitter.com/FOHX6xFURe

— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) January 25, 2020

Rookie point guard Maddy Gobeil returned from a two-game injury absence to spark the Cascades, scoring 13 points and going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Zawada also had a nice game off the bench, pouring in eight points (2-of-3 from three-point range) in just 10 minutes.

Sarah Rinsky, who counted four treys among her 15 points, was the lone Cougar to score in double figures. Cameron Engen contributed nine points off the bench.

"These are really important games for us as we continue to try and improve," Al Tuchscherer said. "We know this (Mount Royal) team has been dangerous – they've been able to beat some pretty good teams. I thought the first half was good – defensively, we were able to create a lot off of our pressure, and our offence was able to hit some shots.

"In the second half, I thought Mount Royal was able to make some adjustments, and we didn't adapt very well, so we'll have to think about that tonight."