The University of Regina's women's basketball team kept rolling on Friday night as the No. 3-ranked Cougars led from start to finish in a 74-55 victory over Alberta at the Saville Centre in Edmonton.
 
The Cougars (12-1) have now won seven consecutive games since their lone loss of the conference schedule, a two-point setback at UNBC back on Nov. 18. Regina remains tied with Saskatchewan for the top record in Canada West.
 
Friday's game saw the Cougars jump out to a 15-4 first-quarter lead and they led by double digits for almost the entire contest after that. Alberta briefly pulled to within nine points on back-to-back field goals by Elle Hendershot and Megan Tywoniuk in the second quarter, but the Cougars replied with eight straight points and remained in control the rest of the way.
 
Kyanna Giles led the Cougars in scoring with 16 points while also adding five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Kyia Giles compiled 14 points and eight rebounds, while Christina McCusker had the game's lone double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Michaela Kleisinger also broke into double figures in scoring with 11 points, three of which came on an NBA three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer.
 
Jenna Harpe came off the bench to lead Alberta (6-7) with 13 points in just 12 minutes.
 
The Cougars have clinched a playoff spot and continue to hold the second-best RPI in Canada West, which the conference will use to determine playoff seeding. Saskatchewan leads the loop with a .6671 RPI after Friday's games, with the Cougars second at .6392 and Trinity Western in third at .6270. The Spartans got a big boost from Friday's win over Calgary, their sixth consecutive conference victory.
 
Regina and Alberta will close out the weekend series on Saturday night (5:00) in Edmonton.