Box Score Box Score

A furious fourth-quarter comeback gave the No. 2-ranked University of Regina's women's basketball team a 74-65 win over the Fraser Valley Cascades on Saturday night at the Envision Athletic Centre in Abbotsford, B.C.

Trailing by seven points after three quarters, the Cougars scored the first ten points of the fourth and were able to hold a scrappy Cascades team to just one point in the final two minutes to secure the victory.

The Cougars led 25-22 after the first quarter, but were only able to muster seven points in the second and trailed by ten points at halftime. Regina outscored Fraser Valley by a 16-11 margin in the third and a 26-10 margin in the final quarter.

The Cougars improve to 7-1 on the season and now hold a one-game lead atop the Great Plains Division over Winnipeg (6-2).

Rebecca Schmidt and Carmen Stewart both had 20 points to lead the Cougars. Stewart was dynamite from the charity stripe, hitting 12 of her 14 free throws. Jessica Lynch had seven points and nine rebounds for the Cougars.

Carmelle Silvestri led Fraser Valley with 14 points, while Heather Boer had 11 points and 12 rebounds to record the double-double for the Cascades. Megan McAlister had eight points, six assists, five rebounds, and five steals.

Both teams shot 35% for the game. Fraser Valley was 6-for-18 from beyond the arc, while the Cougars were just 3-for-16.

Tonight's game marks the first time that the Cougars have beaten Fraser Valley, as the Cascades topped Regina in both 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Fraser Valley drops to 3-7 with the loss.

The Cougars will now prepare for a two-game series at Brandon (1-7) next weekend. The team will enjoy a month-long Christmas break following next weekend, returning to action on Jan. 2 and 3 at Trinity Western and Simon Fraser.

NOTES: Stewart became the first Cougar to hit 12 free throws in a single game since Dec. 3, 2005, when Megan Cherkas went 12-for-17 from the line in a game at Lethbridge.