The University of Regina's women's basketball team hosts the Victoria Vikes this weekend in a best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal series that starts on Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Game 2 will tip off on Saturday at 7 p.m. If necessary, the third game is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.

The winner of the series will advance to the Canada West Final Four, which will be hosted by the University of Saskatchewan if the No. 1-ranked Huskies defeat Calgary (10-14) in their quarterfinal.

The Cougars and the Vikes met twice during Canada West action, playing a weekend series in Victoria in the first half of the schedule. The Cougars won 72-49 in the first game, but the Vikes recovered for a 75-65 win the following night.

But both teams will be sporting different looks since that November series.

The Cougars lost leading rebounder Anne Mercer for the season after breaking her wrist late in the Feb. 10 game against Saskatchewan, which pushes second-year forward Megan Chamberlin into a starting role.

Meanwhile, Victoria's Kayla Dykstra – who recorded a double-double in the loss to Regina and piled up 23 points in the victory the next night – was lost for the season after suffering an injury on Nov. 27 against Alberta. The Vikes were 9-3 with Dykstra in the lineup, but had a second-half record of 6-6 without the fifth-year forward.

Regina's Joanna Zalesiak is a near lock to earn her second consecutive Canada West all-star award after finishing second in the conference in both points per game (16.3) and assists (111). Lindsay Ledingham has enjoyed a breakout offensive season for the Cougars, averaging 14.0 points per game and finishing second on the team behind Mercer with 182 rebounds. Gabrielle Gheyssen and Danielle Schmidt will round out the starting five with Chamberlin, with Carly Graham – who set a U of R record with 52 three-pointers this season – providing a perimeter threat off the bench.

With Dykstra out, Victoria's offence has relied on scoring by committee. Four Vikes have averaged double figures in scoring in the second half of the season, including Carmen Lapthorne (12.7 points per game), Debbie Yeboah (12.5), Sarah Semeniuk (10.8), and Jessica Renfrew (10.2). Cassandra Goodis, Vanessa Forstbauer, and Jane Anholt have also been used as 10th-year head coach Brian Cheng has essentially gone with a seven-player rotation.

The two teams have met in four postseason contests, with Victoria holding a 3-1 advantage in those games. The Vikes defeated Regina in the semifinals of the 1998 CIAU Championship and also took a 2-1 win over the Cougars in a best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal series in 2003.

Webcasts and live statistics will be available for this weekend's games.