The University of Regina's women's basketball team squares off with Calgary this Friday and Saturday as the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport hosts Canada West action for the second consecutive weekend.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. on both nights.
The Cougars are coming off a weekend sweep over Manitoba, winning 71-60 on Friday and following that up with a convincing 91-55 victory the next night to square their conference record at 2-2 for the season.
Charlotte Kot's big double-double (23 points, 12 rebounds) was key in Friday's win, while
Kehlsie Crone and
Alyssia Kajati both had 18 points to lead the Cougars on Saturday.
Ninth-year head coach
Dave Taylor has gone with three different starting lineups in the first four Canada West games of the season, though it'll most likely be Crone,
Jennilea Coppola,
Katie Polischuk, Kot, and Kajati as the starting five with McCusker again getting heavy minutes off the bench for the Cougars. Second-year guards
Sara Hubenig and
Caitlin Zacharias both average in excess of 16 minutes played per game this season, while
Taylor Pelletier broke into the starting lineup last Friday and rookie
Britton Belyk has played in three of the team's four Canada West games.
Three Cougars are averaging in double figures in points this season including Kot, who enters the weekend as the team leader with an average of 15.3 points per game. McCusker averages 12 points per contest, while Kajati averages 11 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. The efforts of Kajati, Kot, and Coppola on the glass have been much of the reason for the U of R's 178-113 rebounding advantage this season.
Like the Cougars, Calgary comes in with a 2-2 record after losing its first two games of the conference schedule on the road (at Winnipeg) before replying with a pair of home wins (over Brandon) last weekend.
Second-year guard Brianna Ghali has yet to start a game for the Dinos this year, but is the only player on Calgary to average in double figures in scoring (10.5 ppg). Fourth-year post Kelsey Lund averages nine points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game, while Claire Colborne, Kristie Sheils, and Jessica Thielen all average just over seven points a game for the Dinos.
This weekend may feature a shot or two from beyond the arc, as Calgary is third in the 17-team conference with 27 three-pointers made and Regina is fourth with 21.
Both of this weekend's games will be webcast live at
www.canadawest.tv.
