The University of Regina's basketball teams return home to the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport this weekend for the first time in over two months, as the Cougars will host Alberta on Friday night and provincial rival Saskatchewan on Saturday.

For the women, these two games will be a huge test for the No. 5-ranked Cougars, who enter the weekend with an 11-3 record – the third-best record in the conference and good enough for top spot in the Great Plains Division. No. 4-ranked Alberta comes into the game with a 10-4 mark, while No. 3 Saskatchewan is 12-2.

The Cougars are coming off of a two-game road sweep over the Manitoba Bisons in which their inside game was simply dominant. The team was led by Chelsea Cassano, who was named the Canada West Female Athlete of the Week after registering a total of 44 points, 38 rebounds, and ten blocked shots over the two games. Brittany Read was equally impressive, falling just two blocks short of recording a triple-double during the team's 91-58 win on Saturday.

The Cougars and the Pandas will know what to expect from each other, having met just over two weeks ago in the final game at the Concordia-Reebok Tournament in Montreal, in which Alberta took a 71-65 non-conference win. Regina has played Alberta tough since the 1999-00 season, winning eight of ten regular season matchups over the Pandas and all four postseason meetings.

“Alberta probably has the best perimeter in the country,” Cougars coach Dave Taylor said. “They have a very good defence that will pressure a lot. We need to limit turnovers and beat them up inside and on the boards.”

Alberta, which is coming off an overtime loss to Lethbridge, is led in scoring by Ashley Wigg (11.1 points per game) and Nicole Clarke (10.4). Clarke has roots here, as the first-year guard attended Dr. Martin LeBoldus HS up to Grade 9 before moving to Calgary. The Pandas enter the weekend as the Canada West leaders in team defence, having given up an average of just 54.4 points per game. Conversely, the Cougar offence ranks second in the conference with 72.4 points scored per game.

The Huskies come into the weekend with the second-best record in Canada West and will travel to Brandon (1-13) for a Friday night game before squaring off with the Cougars on Saturday. Despite being each other's closest geographic rival, the Cougars and the Huskies have met just ten times since 1999, with Regina winning eight of those games.

Saskatchewan, which has a very young roster with just two players in their final two years of eligibility, is led in scoring by third-year guard Kim Tulloch (14.1 points per game) and third-year post Jana Spindler (13.5). Also on the Huskies roster is rookie guard Julia Schmidt, the sister of current Cougars Rebecca Schmidt and Danielle Schmidt.

“Saskatchewan has won every close game they've been in, so they know how to finish out,” Taylor said. “They're very well balanced, so we can't focus in on any one player, but Jana Spindler does present a tough matchup inside. They're a very well-coached team.”

The U of R's men's team is also coming off of a two-game road sweep over Manitoba. The weekend was highlighted by the torrid shooting of third-year guard Jeff Lukomski, whose 11 three-pointers during Saturday's game shattered the school's single-game record. Lukomski, who scored all of his game-high 33 points on Saturday from downtown, needs just 16 more threes to set the U of R's single-season record and 33 more to set the school's career mark, both of which are currently held by Joel Hunter.

Alberta comes into the weekend in second place in the Central Division with a record of 8-6. The Golden Bears, who are led in scoring by fifth-year guard Neb Aleksic (16.1 points per game), have won three consecutive games and have won five of their last six. The teams haven't met since Nov. 16, 2007 in Edmonton, when Alberta recorded a 79-71 win.

Saskatchewan enters the weekend at 6-8 and boasts the top-scoring player in the conference. Third-year guard Showron Glover transferred to the U of S from the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif. and has made an immediate impact with the Huskies. Glover leads Canada West with an average of 24.6 points per game and scored 50 two weekends ago against Lethbridge. Generously listed at 5'11”, Glover is also the runaway conference leader with 61 steals so far this season. The Huskies and the Cougars met once during the non-conference schedule, with Saskatchewan recording a 117-77 victory in Saskatoon in early October.

With just eight games remaining in the regular season, the Cougars will also be scoreboard watching, as they are currently two games ahead of Brandon (6-8) for first place in the Great Plains Division. The Cougars will be searching for their third division pennant since moving to Canada West, as they also won the Great Plains regular season title in 2003 and 2006. The Bobcats also host the Huskies and the Golden Bears this weekend.

Live statistics and an audio broadcast will be available for both Friday's and Saturday's games, while the Cougars/Huskies matchups will also be televised on a tape-delay basis by Access7. Check out the Cougars' website at www.reginacougars.com for the game links.

NOTES: The Cougars will be selling pink hooded sweatshirts during the weekend's games to support fundraising for breast cancer research. The sweatshirts will be available for $66 while supplies last.