The University of Regina's women's basketball team opened up the Wesmen Classic with a 70-38 win over Algoma on Friday night at the Duckworth Centre in Winnipeg.

The Cougars took a 36-18 lead into the halftime break thanks in large part to 12 first-half points by Christina McCusker, then back-to-back triples by Kyanna Giles and Faith Reid sparked an 11-0 run in the third quarter that ended any hope of an Algoma comeback.

McCusker finished with a game-high 18 points for Regina, while Giles added a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds while also chipping in with four assists. Reid and Michaela Kleisinger both had 10 points in the win.

Thais Matte led Algoma with 13 points.

The Cougars (14-5) will play in the tournament semifinals on Saturday against Lakehead, which took a 67-65 win over Calgary in the quarters on Friday. Game time is set for 8:00 PM.