The University of Regina's women's basketball team was clipped 79-77 by the Winnipeg Wesmen in Canada West action on Friday night in Winnipeg.

The loss drops the Cougars' record to 12-7 on the season as they're now in sixth place in the Pioneer Division standings. The U of R could still finish fourth, fifth, or sixth in the division depending on Saturday's rematch with the Wesmen and elsewhere on the out-of-town scoreboard.

The back-and-forth second half saw the Cougars battle all the way back from a 13-point deficit midway through the third quarter to take a five-point lead after a massive 24-6 run, but Winnipeg had an answer. 

The Wesmen went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes with Megan Noonan scoring all nine points, giving Winnipeg a late four-point lead. Alyssia Kajati hit a late basket to get the Cougars to within two and Winnipeg missed the ensuing free throws, but with just seconds remaining on the clock there wasn't time to get down the court for an attempt at a game-tying shot.

Stephanie Kleysen and Noonan combined to score 58 of Winnipeg's 79 points. Kleysen hit five triples and scored a game-high 30, while Noonan hit four threes and finished with 28.

Katie Polischuk was 6-for-13 from three-point range and scored 22, while Kajati had 18 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. Kehlsie Crone added 11 points, with Caitlin Zacharias coming off the bench to chip in with 10.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon (2:00, canadawest.tv).