Box Score

The University of Regina's women's basketball team won its eighth straight Canada West game on Friday after defeating Trinity Western by a 72-63 score at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Michelle Clark and Lindsay Ledingham led a balanced attack for the No. 3-ranked Cougars (8-1) with 13 points apiece, while Madi Docherty and Jennilea Coppola both came off the bench to score 11. Coppola added a game-high 11 rebounds to collect her first double-double of the season.

Holly Strom led Trinity Western (1-8) in points for the fifth consecutive game, hitting eight of her nine free throws and ending up scoring 18. Emily Knauff scored 15 points and added 10 rebounds to score a double-double, while Sarah Cleveland – playing in her first game since being injured in the UNBC series – scored 14 points in 30 minutes off the bench for the Spartans.

Neither team was really able to get going offensive in the first half, which saw the Cougars lead 29-18 after two quarters despite shooting under 30% from the field and turning the ball over 15 times. A massive advantage on the glass and equally cold shooting from the visitors kept the Cougars in front, as the U of R had a 32-15 rebounding edge and Trinity Western was 8-for-35 in the first half.

The second half was a completely different story, as the two teams combined for more points in the third quarter alone as they scored in the entire first half. 

Trinity Western started the third on an 8-0 run and pulled to within three points on two occasions in the quarter. The Spartans ended up outscoring Regina by a 27-24 margin in the third and Cleveland came out hot for Trinity Western in the fourth, scoring the opening five points.

But after a Cleveland triple, the Cougars finally pulled away from Trinity Western for good. Regina allowed just one point over the next six minutes as part of a 12-1 run which gave them a double-digit lead down the stretch.  Five straight points cut the deficit to eight for the Spartans with two minutes left, but that was as close as they would get.

The Cougars will now prepare for a showdown with No. 2-ranked Fraser Valley on Saturday night. The Cascades (9-0) were also victorious on Friday, taking a 74-35 road win over Brandon.

Trinity Western returns to action on Saturday night at Brandon (0-9).