The University of Regina's women's basketball team's second-half comeback fell just short as Ottawa took a 65-63 victory over the Cougars in a quarterfinal matchup at the 2019 U SPORTS Women's Final 8 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
The Cougars clawed back from a 13-point deficit and had a chance to tie it with seconds to go, but
Carolina Goncalves couldn't get a layup to fall after fighting through a double team and Ottawa was able to secure the rebound to seal the win.
"As mad as I was at halftime about our compete level, I was exceptionally proud of the team after the game," Cougars head coach
Dave Taylor said. "We knew we'd have to compete like we did in the second half to have a chance and we knew we had to win the rebounding battle which we did in the second half and it showed in the result. We dug a bit of a hole in the first half, and against a good team like Ottawa it's tough to come back."
Regina used a 10-1 run in the third quarter to get back into it, and it was a one-possession game for the final two minutes after a pair of Goncalves free throws brought the Cougars to within two. The U of R got three defensive stops in the final two minutes, but weren't able to take advantage as the Goncalves freebies turned out to be the final points of the game for either team.
Macaela Crone had a huge game for the Cougars, including a pair of fourth-quarter triples to keep the U of R within striking distance. The second-year forward finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds while also leading the Cougars with four assists.
Ottawa was led by the tandem of Amélie Hachey and Brooklynn McAlear-Fanus, who shot a combined 9-for-11 from three-point range. Most of that damage was done by Hachey, who was 7-for-9 from the perimeter and finished with a game-high 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds. McAlear-Fanus had 16 points, nine assists, and six rebounds for the No. 4-seeded Gee-Gees, who will move on to face No. 1 Laval in Saturday's semifinals.
Besides Crone's double-double, the Cougars also got solid efforts from both
Christina McCusker and
Michaela Kleisinger. McCusker had 16 points, while Kleisinger scored 12 and added seven rebounds.
The Cougars will head to the consolation side of the bracket and will play tournament host Ryerson on Friday night (8:00 EST). The winner of that will move on to face either Acadia or Concordia in the consolation final on Sunday.
