The University of Regina's women's basketball team closes out the first half of the Canada West schedule at home this Friday and Saturday against the Brandon Bobcats.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. on both nights at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
 
After opening up the Canada West schedule with two road losses to Victoria that knocked them out of the CIS Top Ten for the first time since the 2006-07 season, the Cougars have rebounded nicely. They've won all six conference games since then, including two wins each over Manitoba and Calgary in back-to-back home weekends and last week's two road wins over Lethbridge.
 
The Cougars' 6-2 record on the season puts them in second place in Canada West's Pioneer Division.
 
Fourth-year guard Kehlsie Crone was the offensive catalyst in last weekend's two wins over the Pronghorns, earning Canada West Third Star of the Week honours after posting a career-high 21 points in the team's 79-68 win on Friday and following that up with a new career best of 22 points in a 72-58 victory on Saturday. Crone is shooting a ridiculous 60% from three-point range this year, and with 18 triples she's already surpassed her total of 17 last year.
 
Ninth-year head coach Dave Taylor tinkered with the lineup for the first two weekends of the conference schedule, but has now gone with the same starting five in each of the last four games. Crone has been joined by guard Katie Polischuk, forwards Charlotte Kot and Alyssia Kajati, and post Jennilea Coppola in the starting lineup, with all five averaging in excess of 25 minutes per game last weekend at Lethbridge. Kot leads the team with an average of 14.6 points per game, while Polischuk and Kajati both average 11.3 per game and Crone checks in at 10.9 while compiling a team-high 38 assists. Coppola is averaging 8.1 points and a team-leading 8.1 rebounds per game.
 
It's typically a nine-player rotation for the Cougars with Sara Hubenig, Caitlin Zacharias, Taylor Pelletier, and rookie forward Christina McCusker playing key roles off the bench. McCusker has had the most statistical impact of the four, averaging 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 56.4% from the field. Rookie guard Britton Belyk has also appeared in six of the U of R's eight Canada West games.
 
Brandon comes into Friday with a 3-5 record after a home split with Trinity Western last weekend. They clipped the Spartans 62-61 for their third consecutive victory last Friday, but fell 49-45 to TWU in a low-scoring affair on Saturday.
 
The Bobcats are led by third-year forward Alyssa Montgomery, a transfer from Southeastern Illinois College. Montgomery is leading the team in both points (13.5) and rebounds (8.0) per game this year, while third-year guard Mikaela Stanton also averages in double figures with 10.2 points per game. Brandon's starting lineup will also likely include second-year forward Amy Williams – a product of Moose Jaw's Peacock Collegiate – and fourth-year guards Aleah Bridges and Stephanie Haynes.
 
Both games will be webcast at www.canadawest.tv.