One night after surviving an upset bid by Winnipeg, the No. 6-ranked University of Regina’s women’s basketball team led from wire to wire in a convincing 80-44 win over the Wesmen on Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
The win improves Regina’s record to 7-1 on the season as the Cougars head into the December break in third place in Canada West’s Pioneer Division, a half game back of second-place Alberta (8-1) and a game back of first-place Saskatchewan (8-0).
The Cougars simply dominated the glass, with their total of 72 rebounds standing as the second-highest total they’ve ever registered in a Canada West game – the only time they’ve ever had more in a game was when they pulled down 73 in a win over Thompson Rivers in January of 2014. The U of R’s 72-33 advantage in rebounding led to a 33-11 edge in second-chance points, with rookie Michaela Kleisinger(pictured) coming off the bench to lead the team with 11 boards.
All 12 Cougars dressed for Saturday’s game scored points in the victory, led by Alyssia Kajati with a game-high 13 points. Kehlsie Crone and Katie Polischuk both scored 12, while Christina McCusker had nine and rookie Alexi Rowden contributed with a season-high eight points. Kleisinger was brilliant as she also had seven points and six assists to go along with her 11 rebounds, while Charlotte Kot and Rowden both pulled down 10 boards.
Winnipeg (1-7) was led by Megan Noonan in scoring for the second consecutive night. The fourth-year guard had 12 points, most of which came on her three triples.
After last night’s game which saw Winnipeg lead for the majority of the contest before the Cougars put forth a furious rally in the fourth, Saturday saw the U of R continue that momentum in the early going. Four of the Cougars’ five starters scored as part of a game-opening 11-0 run over the first three minutes, and Regina led by double figures the rest of the way. The Cougars led 24-9 after one, were up 47-19 at the halftime break, and never led by fewer than 22 points at any point during the second half.
Both teams will now have a month-long break from the Canada West schedule before returning to action the second weekend of January. Winnipeg will play Brandon in a rare Thursday/Saturday home-and-home on Jan. 7 and Jan. 9, while the Cougars host Trinity Western in an equally uncommon Saturday/Sunday home series on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10.
Source: reginacougars.com