The University of Regina's women's basketball team dropped a 75-59 decision at UBC on Friday night in the opening game of a best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal series.

The Cougars will now need to upset the No. 2-ranked Thunderbirds in consecutive games on Saturday and Sunday to win the series. The winner of the quarterfinal will advance to the Canada West Final Four to be hosted by the highest remaining seed.

Harleen Sidhu and Kris Young powered the UBC offence with 23 points and 17 points, respectively. Young also tied for the game high with seven rebounds, while Adrienne Parkin chipped in with 13 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

Alyssia Kajati led the Cougars with 16 points and tied Christina McCusker for the team lead with seven boards. Caitlin Zacharias (pictured) added nine points and three assists in 21 minutes off the bench for the U of R.

UBC led from wire to wire in Friday's game, opening the game with points on its first three possessions and scoring the first seven points of the contest. The Cougars held UBC to just two points in the next three minutes and got back to within three, but the Thunderbirds took control with a 13-2 run and never looked back. 

The Thunderbirds led by 11 after one, pushed the lead to 18 at the break, and enjoyed a 29-point advantage at one point early in the fourth quarter before a late 14-2 run by the Cougars brought the margin down to a more respectable 14 points. The Cougars held a 45-39 advantage on the glass and their 13 turnovers were well under their season average, but shot just 21% from the field in their first half to help allow UBC to build up the significant lead.