Kendall Lydon's free throw with two seconds left gave MacEwan a 73-72 win over the Regina Cougars on Saturday night at the City Centre Campus Gym in Edmonton.
The loss snaps No. 1-ranked Regina's 15-game winning streak. The Cougars had rolled through non-conference play with a 12-0 record and had also won their first three Canada West games of the season before Saturday.
Playing without All-Canadian forward
Charlotte Kot who was injured on Friday, the Cougars led for almost the entire game but weren't able to put MacEwan away. Regina built up a 16-point lead midway through the third quarter after a pair of
Avery Pearce buckets on back-to-back possessions, but MacEwan promptly went on a 17-6 run and trailed by just six heading into the fourth.
It was a one-possession game for most of the final quarter, and a Brielle Wise triple with a minute left gave MacEwan a 70-69 advantage as the Griffins took the lead for the first time since the first quarter. Pearce answered back immediately with a three of her own to put Regina up 72-70, but those turned out to be the final points of the game for the Cougars. Lydon tied up the game with a pair of free throws on the next possession, and after a missed shot by the U of R with five seconds to go Lydon was fouled again. She hit one of her two free throws to put MacEwan up one, and
Kyanna Giles' jumper from the key at the buzzer rimmed out to seal the win for the Griffins.
Juhee Thompson scored 14 to lead MacEwan, while Lydon finished with 13 and Kayla Ivacak and Wise both chipped in with 11. The Griffins improve to 2-2 on the year with the win.
Pearce led the Cougars (3-1) with 15 points. Giles finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, while
Sara Hubenig finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Cougars will now have a weekend off before returning to action with a pair of road games at Trinity Western on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26 in Langley, B.C.
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