Box Score
In a game featuring two of the top three teams in the CIS, the University of Regina's women's basketball team held on for a 59-55 win over Fraser Valley on Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
The victory improves the No. 3-ranked Cougars' conference record to 8-1 on the season, while No. 2 Fraser Valley – also 8-1 – suffers its first loss of the Canada West schedule.
Lindsay Ledingham hit her first three attempts from downtown and ended up with a game-high 20 points for the Cougars, while
Jennilea Coppola came off the bench to dominate on the glass with 13 rebounds in just 18 minutes played.
Danielle Schmidt also hit three triples for the Cougars and scored 11, while
Michelle Clark filled the box score with seven points, seven assists, and six rebounds.
Aieisha Luyken led Fraser Valley with 16 points, five assists, and four steals despite missing a good chunk of the fourth quarter after suffering an injury. Three other Fraser Valley starters broke into double figures, including Nicole Wierks (12 points), Kayli Sartori (11), and Sarah Wierks (10). Courtney Bartel led the Cascades with eight rebounds.
The first quarter started with the Cougars jumping out to a 9-2 lead, but Fraser Valley responded quickly with a 13-2 run of its own to take the lead. The U of R regained the lead as part of a 12-2 run in the second quarter and the Cougars took a 29-26 advantage into halftime.
After an early Luyken bucket in the third quarter tied up the game, the Cougars took the lead for good after reeling off 10 consecutive points over the next seven minutes. Fraser Valley chipped away at the lead and cut the deficit to two points after a Caitlyn Brink jumper late in the third, but that was as close as the Cascades would come as the Cougars quickly pushed the lead back up to eight.
The Cougars led by two possessions for most of the fourth quarter, with Fraser Valley's best chance to draw even coming with about two minutes left as Luyken and Sarah Wierks came up with buckets on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to 54-50. The Cougars were able to overcome some late turnovers thanks to a pair of missed Fraser Valley jumpers, and the game was finally put away with a pair of Ledingham free throws with 13 seconds left on the clock.
Neither team shot particularly well in the game, as Regina's 29.9% clip from the field barely beat out Fraser Valley's 29.4%. The Cougars enjoyed a big 56-39 rebounding advantage, but turned the ball over 21 times to the Cascades' 15.
At the very least, the Cougars will remain tied for first place in Canada West's Prairie Division and will pull into sole possession of the division lead if Victoria can pull out a home win over Calgary on Saturday night. Despite the loss, Fraser Valley will still have a two-game lead atop the Pacific Division.
Both teams will now have a month-long break from the conference schedule before returning to Canada West play in January.
NOTES: Due to poor travel conditions on Highway 1 around the Saskatchewan/Manitoba border, Fraser Valley didn't arrive at the CKHS until shortly after 5:30 ... game time was delayed about 20 minutes because of UFV's late arrival at the gym.
