The University of Regina's women's basketball team conceded a late run to Winnipeg on Saturday as the Wesmen took a 62-58 victory at the Dr. David F. Anderson Gymnasium in a late-season Canada West game.
The Cougars went on a 10-2 run capped by a
Christina McCusker three-point play that put them up 56-52 with two and a half minutes to go, but that turned out to be the U of R's last field goal of the game. Winnipeg closed out the game with a 10-2 run of its own, getting a bucket from Antoinette Miller with under a minute to go and after a key defensive stop, another Miller basket with seconds left made it a two-possession game.
Winnipeg (16-2) now becomes the first 16-win Canada West team, while the Cougars and Alberta now sit at 15-3.
Miller had a huge double-double for Winnipeg, finishing with a game-high 27 points and adding 10 rebounds and five steals. Faith Hezekiah scored 16 points off the bench for the Wesmen, while Lena Wenke had 10 points.
McCusker was 7-for-9 from the field and scored a career-high 20 points, topping her previous best of 19 that she scored as a rookie in her first Canada West game.
Kyanna Giles added 14 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
The Cougars will finish off the Canada West schedule next Friday and Saturday at home against Thompson Rivers (2-16). If the U of R finishes with one of the top four RPIs in the conference, the Cougars will receive a bye through the first round of the Canada West postseason and would host a conference quarterfinal series beginning Thursday, Feb. 23.