Box Score Box Score
Playing as a No. 1-ranked team for the first time in over seven years, the University of Regina's women's basketball team held court with a 79-68 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday night in a Canada West game at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
The game was the first of the conference schedule for both the Cougars and No. 4-ranked Saskatchewan.
The two teams played to nearly a dead heat in the first half, as the first quarter ended in a 16-16 tie and a pair of late Katie Miyazaki free throws gave Saskatchewan a narrow two-point edge at the half. The Cougars (1-0) took the lead for good early in the second half and scored eight unanswered points in under a minute put together a double-digit lead midway through the third quarter.
Saskatchewan (0-1) stayed within striking distance and got the lead down back to within four early in the fourth after a pair of Dalyce Emmerson free throws, but back-to-back three-pointers by
Joanna Zalesiak and
Carly Graham started a 10-0 run for the Cougars that gave them a 14-point cushion.
Michelle Clark had a fine Canada West debut for Regina, going 4-for-9 from three-point land and scoring a game-high 21 points.
Joanna Zalesiak hit all three of her attempts from downtown and ended up just behind Clark with 20.
Alyssia Kajati,
Lindsay Ledingham,
Brittany Read, and
Danielle Schmidt all chipped in with eight points in the win for Regina. Kajati and Ledingham tied for the team high with seven rebounds, while Zalesiak led all players with seven assists.
Emmerson, a rookie playing her first conference game for Saskatchewan, had the game's lone double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds and was 11-for-17 from the free throw line. Miyazaki tied Emmerson for the team high with 19 points and the reigning CIS Defensive Player of the Year accounted for six of her team's eight steals.
Saskatchewan will face No. 8 Alberta (2-0) on the road next weekend, while the Cougars will travel to the West Coast for games against Victoria (1-1) and No. 5-ranked UBC (0-0).
