Canada West Communications
Highlights:
- UFV’s Taylor Claggett (BB) and Saskatchewan’s Lawrence Moore (BB) are the Canada West first stars of the week for the period ending February 4
- Claggett helped the Cascades earn a split against Manitoba to crack the CW playoffs, while posting a conference record-tying 15 free throws Saturday night
- Moore finished the regular season with a combined 77 points in Saskatchewan’s split with Regina
- Calgary’s Kate Pexman (VB) and Manitoba’s Alanna Sharman (HKY) are the other women’s stars, while Alberta’s Brody Clarke (BB) and Calgary’s Chris Collins (HKY) are the other men’s stars
EDMONTON – Thanks to strong finishes to the Canada West basketball season, Taylor Claggett and Lawrence Moore have landed conference first star honours.
Claggett posted a pair of double-doubles, as the UFV Cascades split with Manitoba, which helped UFV to a post-season berth. Claggett combined for 43 points and 25 rebounds, with 15 of those points coming via free throws in Saturday night’s 80-56 win. Those 15 free throws tied a Canada West record for makes, while her 19 attempts set a new conference single-game high.
Claggett and company take on the Victoria Vikes Friday night in the conference’s single elimination play-in round.
In Saskatoon, Moore capped off an outstanding season with 77 combined points in the Huskies’ split against the Regina Cougars. The Chicago product finished second in the conference scoring race, posting 24 points per game – just 0.1 back of leading scorer Justus Alleyn from Manitoba.
Moore and the Huskies host the Vikes Friday night in a Canada West play-in game, with the winner moving on to the best-of-three quarter-final round.
You can watch Claggett and Moore the rest of the season by tuning into every CW basketball playoff game on Canada West TV.
Also earning stars this week were: Calgary’s Kate Pexman (VB) and Manitoba’s Alanna Sharman (HKY) in women’s, while Alberta’s Brody Clarke (BB) and Calgary’s Chris Collins (HKY) are the other men’s stars.
Women’s first star – Taylor Claggett
Fraser Valley Cascades basketball
Forward
3rd-year
Mission, B.C.
Arts
Game log: Friday, Feb. 2 – 16 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 79-74 OTL vs. Manitoba / Saturday, Feb. 3 – 27 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, 15-of-19 free throws in 80-56 W vs. Manitoba.
Taylor Claggett helped the University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball team secure a Canada West playoff berth in thrilling fashion, authoring a pair of outstanding weekend performances.
On Friday, the third-year forward from Mission, B.C. had a tremendous all-around outing, racking up 16 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals, but the Cascades fell 79-74 in overtime to the Manitoba Bisons.
UFV required a victory in Saturday’s rematch with Manitoba, plus a Brandon win at Thompson Rivers, to punch their playoff ticket, and they took care of their half of the equation behind a monster game from Claggett. She racked up a season-high 27 points and 13 rebounds for her second straight double-double (and seventh of the season) and added four assists in the Cascades’ 80-56 blowout win. Claggett had a record-setting night at the free throw line, establishing a new Canada West mark for free throw attempts (19) and tying the record for makes (15).
Meanwhile in Kamloops, Brandon managed an 81-73 win over TRU to allow the Cascades (8-12) to lock up a playoff berth for the eighth straight season. UFV opens the playoffs this Friday, taking on the Victoria Vikes on the road (7 p.m., CanadaWest.tv).
Claggett finished the season fifth in Canada West rebounding (9.7 per game) and 20th in scoring (13.8 points per game), while leading the conference in free throw attempts per game (7.3).
Men’s first star – Lawrence Moore
Saskatchewan Huskies basketball
Guard
4th-year
Chicago, Illinois
Arts & Science
Game log: Friday, Feb. 2 – 24 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists, and four steals in 93-80 W vs. Regina / Saturday, Feb. 3 – 43 points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals in 81-76 L vs. Regina.
University of Saskatchewan guard Lawrence Moore helped the Huskies secure a home playoff spot in a Canada West play-in game with 67 points in two games against the Regina Cougars.
The Arts & Science student from Chicago, Illinois scored neared a triple-double in Friday’s 93-80 win. Moore tallied 24 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in his 40 minutes. He added four steals and three blocks in the game. A night later in an 81-76 loss, Moore recorded a game-high 43 points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Moore and the Huskies host the Victoria Vikes Friday at 7 p.m. The winner of the single elimination game moves on to a quarter-final round.
Women’s second star – Kate Pexman
Calgary Dinos volleyball
Outside hitter
3rd-year
Calgary, Alta.
Engineering
Game log: Friday, Feb. 2 – 18 kills, 13 digs, one ace, and three blocks in 3-0 W vs. Trinity Western / Saturday, Feb. 3 – 29 kills, 18 digs, two aces, and two blocks in 3-2 W vs. Trinity Western.
This weekend at the Jack Simpson Gym saw two more outstanding performances from University of Calgary Dinos outside hitter Kate Pexman – this time in record-setting fashion.
On Friday night, Pexman contributed 18 kills, 13 digs, one service ace, and three blocks as the Dinos picked up a 3-0 win over the Trinity Western Spartans, who entered the weekend ranked No. 9 in the country.
After their Friday domination, the Dinos were in for a tougher task on Saturday as the Spartans forced the match into a fifth set. Pexman took her game to another level though and helped Calgary to another win. The Calgary native set a new school record with 29 kills to go along with 18 digs, two service aces, and two blocks.
Calgary will look to extend their five-game win streak this coming weekend when they host the MacEwan Griffins for a pair of matinee matches, Feb. 9-10.
Men’s second star – Brody Clarke
Alberta Golden Bears basketball
Forward
3rd-year
Toronto, Ont.
Engineering
Game log: Friday, Feb. 2 – 26 points, 15 rebounds, two blocks and an assist in 93-88 W at Lehtbridge / Saturday, Feb. 3 – 17 points, 11 rebounds, one block, and for assists in 97-96 W at Lethbridge.
Third-year University of Alberta Golden Bears basketball forward Brody Clarke is the Canada West second star of the week after leading the No. 3-ranked Bears to a weekend sweep of Lethbridge in their season finale.
Clarke cemented his already stellar season with another pair of strong performances in Lethbridge, adding two more double-doubles, finishing with 43 points and 16 rebounds over their two wins on the road.
His strongest performance came in Friday night’s 93-88 win, as Clarke scored a game and season-high 26 points, while adding 15 rebounds and two blocks. The Toronto, ON native finished the Canada West season second in offensive rebounds (68), fifth in total rebounds (167), and fourth in blocks (31).
The 19-1 Golden Bears, having clinched first place in Canada West, will get a bye this weekend through the conference play-in round, before hosting a best-of-three quarter-final series in Edmonton February 16-18.
Women’s third star – Alanna Sharman
Manitoba Bisons hockey
Forward
4th-year
Winnipeg, Man.
Management
Game log: Friday, Feb. 2 – two assists and plus-three rating in 3-0 W at Lethbridge / Saturday, Feb. 3 – two assists and plus-one in 3-2 2OTW at Lethbridge.
The Bisons women’s hockey team continued to win on the road with a weekend sweep of Lethbridge Pronghorns on February 2-3. Manitoba remains first in the ultra-competitive CW standings with only two games left in the regular season.
Bison fourth-year forward Alanna Sharman had two multi-point games during the road victories with four assists with a plus/minus rating of plus-four.
To begin the weekend, the Winnipeg native was named the game’s third star after two assists with one shot and a plus-three rating in the 3-0 shutout road win. The 5-8 forward added two assists – one on the game-winner in overtime – plus two shots and a plus-one rating in a come-from-behind 3-2 double OT win on Saturday.
Sharman is tied for fourth in conference scoring and is second on the team with 18 points (3G-15A) while playing in all 26 CW regular season games so far this season.
The Bisons (17-5-3-1) finish the CW regular season at home when they host the Calgary Dinos (7-16-1-2) on February 9-10 weekend at Wayne Fleming Arena. Manitoba is curretnly five points ahead of UBC, while Calgary is in seventh and two points back of the sixth and final playoff spot.
Men’s third star – Chris Collins
Calgary Dinos hockey
Forward
5th-year
Calgary, Alta.
Arts
Game log: Friday, Feb. 2 – three assists, plus-five rating in 7-0 W at Regina / Saturday, Feb. 3 – two power play goals, including game-winner, in 4-3 W at Regina.
Chasing the final playoff spot in Canada West, the University of Calgary Dinos got some much-needed support from a familiar source.
Fifth-year forward Chris Collins, tied for the team-lead with 25 points, setup three goals and was on the ice for two more, as part of a 7-0 Dinos win over the Regina Cougars on Friday night.
In a much closer affair on Saturday, Collins had a huge impact on the game, notching both the game-tying and game-winning goals. The tying goal came with under a minute left in the second period, while the winner came mid-way through the final frame in a 4-3 Calgary victory.
Collins’ five-point weekend has helped the Dinos build a four-point cushion on the Lethbridge Pronghorns for sixth in the Canada West standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season. Calgary will wrap up their schedule with home games versus the Manitoba Bisons, Feb. 9-10.