The University of Regina's women's basketball team closed out its Canada West play-in series in two straight games with an 80-65 win over Fraser Valley on Saturday night at UFV's Envision Athletic Centre.
The Cougars will be right back on the road next weekend, as they'll now prepare for a best-of-three series against Pioneer Division champion UBC in Vancouver.
Saturday's game bore many similarities to Friday's, as the Cougars never trailed in this one. They jumped out to another quick start with a 13-4 run to open the game over the first six minutes, though UFV battled back and trailed by just a bucket after the first.
Fraser Valley tied up the game on two occasions in the second quarter, but the Cougars scored eight consecutive points to break a 25-25 tie as part of a 14-2 run to end the half as the visitors took a 39-27 lead into the break.
The Cougars held a double-digit lead for much of the third quarter, though Fraser Valley made one final push with a 7-0 run that spanned the final minute of the third and the first minute of the fourth. That got UFV to within four at 56-52, but that was as close as the Cascades would come. The Cougars quickly took control back with the next nine points to push the lead to 13, and they cruised to victory down the stretch.
Katie Polischuk led the Cougars in both points and rebounds, finishing with 17 and 12 for a big double-double.
Jennilea Coppola (pictured) also had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while
Charlotte Kot had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Kehlsie Crone was all over the stat sheet with nine points, nine assists, and six rebounds, while
Alyssia Kajati scored 10 points in just 14 minutes played.
Sara Hubenig provided a nice spark off the bench for the Cougars, hitting a pair of triples and finishing with seven points.
Kaitlyn Brink led Fraser Valley with a game-high 24 points.
The Cougars and UBC will start their best-of-three quarterfinal series next Friday. Game 2 will go Saturday, and Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday afternoon if it's needed.
