TEAM OVERVIEWS
REGINA – The Cougars are off to another quick start with a 9-1 conference record, marking the sixth time in head coach Dave Taylor's 12-year tenure that his team has had at least nine wins in their first 10 Canada West games of the season. The Cougars also have an 18-2 overall record, the second-best RPI in the conference, and are currently ranked No. 3 in the nation as they build towards a March that will include the 2018 U SPORTS Championship right here at the U of R. Six of the U of R's next eight games are at home, as the Cougars also host Brandon (Jan. 19/20) and Winnipeg (Jan. 26/27) before postseason play begins in February.
 
MOUNT ROYAL – The Cougars come into the weekend with at 0-10 in Canada West play, having played Winnipeg, Fraser Valley, Lethbridge, Manitoba, and Thompson Rivers in the first half of the conference schedule. While the team's on-court leader is fifth-year post Becky Nash – who ranks second in Canada West in blocked shots and also leads the team in scoring and rebounding – MRU head coach Nathan McKibbon made a significant addition to the roster just this week. Gala Mestres, who last played for Lima-Horta Basquet in the Spain's second-highest women's league, is expected to come in and be an immediate contributor for Mount Royal. She'll wear No. 9 in her debut this weekend.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Lethbridge	Regina
#7 Abbey Gillette (F • 5-10 • 2nd) #9 Gala Mestres (G • 6-1 • 1st) #10 Michelle Tiffany (G • 5-4 • 3rd) #11 Becky Nash (P • 6-5 • 5th) #12 Erin Kehrig (F • 5-11 • 2nd)	#1 Charlotte Kot (F • 6-0 • 5th) #2 Michaela Kleisinger (G • 5-7 • 3rd) #7 Sara Hubenig (G • 5-9 • 5th) #8 Carolina Goncalves (G • 5-9 • 1st) #9 Kyanna Giles (G • 5-7 • 2nd)

ALL-TIME SERIES
The two teams have met only twice in Canada West play since Mount Royal ascended from the CCAA ranks prior to the 2012-13 season. Both of those games were back in 2013, with Regina winning 73-39 over Mount Royal at home in January and taking a 90-59 victory on the road in November. The Cougars and MRU also met in a non-conference game in September, 2014 with Regina winning that one by an 81-40 margin in Calgary.
 
#CK1K
Fifth-year post Charlotte Kot enters this weekend with 996 career points in her U SPORTS career, now needing only four more to become the 12th player in school history to score 1000. The others, in order – Cymone Bouchard (1439), Jackie Moore (1368), Jana Schweitzer (1280), Corrin Wersta (1265), Trena Mott (1229), Bree Burgess (1165), Katie Polischuk (1133), Annette Pfeifer (1119), Lindsay Ledingham (1078), Deanne Shmyr (1055), and Chelsea Cassano (1055).
 
QUOTABLE: COACH TAYLOR
Keys to the weekend – "This time of year, it's just about getting the rust off after a long break. We haven't played since December 3 so the focus is more on us, to be honest, than worrying about the team we're playing. Both teams are going to be a little rusty coming out."
 
On Mount Royal addition Gala Mestres – "I haven't seen her play a whole lot, but I'm familiar with her and she's going to impact them a lot in terms of being able to come off ball screens. She's a scorer that changes them and she slots everyone into what's probably a more comfortable role for them. They've already got a quality big inside, so she's going to be a nice complement to that."