Maria Mongomo and Emma vanBruinessen both had double-doubles to lead the UNBC Timberwolves to a 76-71 road win over the Regina Cougars on Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Mongomo finished with a game-high 27 points and added 15 rebounds, while vanBruinessen scored 13 and led all players with 17 boards. UNBC played with just six players, but won over the Cougars for the second consecutive night as the Timberwolves lock up a Canada West playoff berth for the fourth straight year.

The Cougars led by six midway through the fourth quarter after Faith Reid hit a triple, but UNBC then went on a game-changing 15-2 run powered by Emily Holmes and Madison Landry that gave the Timberwolves a 72-65 lead with 30 seconds left. The win moves UNBC to 9-9 on the year and while they've still got a shot at a home play-in game, they'll need a sweep over MacEwan next weekend along with significant help on the out-of-town scoreboard.

Macaela Crone led the Cougars (8-10) in scoring for the second straight night, finishing with a season-high 22 points while also pulling down eight rebounds. Michaela Kleisinger and Reid both ended up with 13 points.

UNBC led for most of the first half, holding a 13-11 advantage after the opening quarter and scoring the last 10 points of the second to take a 33-25 lead into the break. The Cougars chipped away at that lead in the third and trailed just 50-49 heading into the final quarter and continued their strong play up until the point where Reid's three-pointer gave them their largest lead of the game, but it was all UNBC from there.

Despite the loss, the Cougars clinch a playoff spot courtesy of Mount Royal's loss to Winnipeg. They'll head to the postseason for the 25th consecutive year, a streak that began way back during the 1995-96 campaign.

The Cougars finish off the conference schedule next weekend with a pair of road games at Fraser Valley. After that, they'll play in a Canada West play-in game sometime the following weekend, with opponent and location to be determined. Like UNBC, the Cougars remain in contention for a home play-in game but will need to take at least one from UFV in Abbotsford.

NOTES: The Cougars honoured fifth-year players Kleisinger, Avery Pearce, and Alexi Rowden following the game.