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The University of Regina's basketball teams play a rare afternoon series this weekend, as they host the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday and Sunday at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport. The women's games start at 1 p.m. with the men to follow with a 3 p.m. tip-off.

Women's Preview

After a season-opening stumble at home against Saskatchewan, the No. 3-ranked Cougars (3-1) are starting to roll and enter this weekend's games riding a three-game winning streak.

The Cougars are coming off a two-game road sweep over Winnipeg, winning 81-60 on Thursday night and following that up with a 76-55 win on Friday. Michelle Clark led the team in scoring on both nights, collecting 20 points on Thursday and a career-high 29 points on Friday. Lindsay Ledingham scored in double figures in both games, while Megan Chamberlin and Jennilea Coppola tied career rebounding highs – Chamberlin with 11 on Thursday as part of a double-double and Coppola with 16 on Friday.

The U of R went to Winnipeg with a depleted roster, having lost fifth-year post Brittany Read and rookies Charlotte Kot and Katie Polischuk to injuries suffered in practice. Chamberlin stepped into a starting role in place of Read, while Alyssia Kajati got her first game action of the season after battling illness through the non-conference schedule and the first part of the Canada West slate.

Clark enters the weekend ranked second in the conference in both points per game (19.5) and steals (12) and third in Canada West in three-pointers made (11), while Coppola is second in the conference with seven blocks and seventh with 33 rebounds.

Manitoba (2-2) opened the season with a pair of road losses to Calgary, but got their conference record back up to .500 with a pair of wins over Brandon – one of which was a 62-61 game that needed overtime to settle.

Sheree Carmona-Galdamez and Robyn Eyer both score in double figures for the Bisons, as Carmona-Galdamez averages 12.8 points per game and Eyer comes off the bench to average 12.3. Eyer has been lights-out from three-point land, leading Canada West with 13 three-pointers made and shooting 59.1% from downtown.

The Bisons' starting five includes Carmona-Galdamez, Stephanie Gill, Brittany Koop, Christiane Fischer, and rookie Rebecca Potter (Glenlawn Collegiate). Koop, a 5-10 second-year forward, is the team's leading rebounder with an average of six boards per game.

Men's Preview

The Cougars (1-3) suffered two road losses to Winnipeg last weekend, falling 88-73 to the Wesmen on Thursday and 92-74 on Friday.

Frank Brown continues to be the story for the Cougars, as the Phoenix College transfer has led the U of R in scoring in all four contests this season. He ranks third in Canada West with an average of 23 points per game and leads the conference outright with 17 three-pointers made. Though it's still early, Brown is on pace to threaten Jeff Lukomski's school single-season record of 75 three-pointers set back during the 2008-09 campaign.

Though Brown has been the U of R's offensive leader so far, it should be a milestone Saturday for fifth-year forward Paul Gareau. Gareau – who leads Canada West with an .800 field goal percentage this season – comes into the weekend with 997 career points and will likely become the 16th University of Regina player to hit the 1000 mark against the Wesmen.

The U of R's starting five this season has consisted of Brown, Gareau, Connor Burns, Brendan Hebert, and Antonio Tate. Darius Mole has been heavily used off the bench, with Matthew Augustine and Vule Grujic also averaging in double figures in minutes played so far this season.

Manitoba (2-2) has recorded two weekend splits to open the conference slate, registering a win and a loss against both Calgary and Brandon.

With last year's scoring leader Kurtis Sansregret gone, Stephan Walton has provided the bulk of the offence for Manitoba this season. Walton ranks among the conference's scoring leaders with 22.5 points per game and is the team leader in both assists and steals, while Yigit Ozsayiner ranks second in Canada West with an average of 9.8 rebounds per game.

NOTES: Gareau looks to join Jeff Lukomski, Glen Nelson, Tyler Wright, Chris Biegler, Joel Hunter, Kevin Gilroy, Brenan Schwartz, Jamal Williams, Bryden Wright, Kris Heshka, Dale Holmes, Paul Schubach, Bill Johnson, Ryan Michell, and Mark Benesh in the U of R's 1000-point club.