The University of Regina's women's basketball team lost to the University of Winnipeg Wesmen 77-68 on Saturday night in Winnipeg.
 
The Wesmen were led by Faith Hezekiah, who scored 22 points and shot a perfect 4-of-4 from three. With the win, the Wesmen stay neck-and-neck with the Saskatchewan Huskies in a tie for first place in the Canada West East Division.
 
The Cougars started the game hot, jumping out to a 10-5 lead in the first four and a half minutes. The Wesmen answered back with a 16-3 run to close out the quarter and lead 21-13 after the opening 10 minutes.
 
The Cougars went on a 9-3 run to cut the Winnipeg lead to just one at the 5:35 mark in the second quarter. The Wesmen responded with a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 10 points. Winnipeg maintained that lead for the rest of the quarter as they took a 40-30 lead into halftime
 
The Cougars again went toe-to-toe with the Wesmen in the third quarter, but could not get enough stops to generate a comeback. They cut Winnipeg's lead to five on two different occasions but could not get any closer as the Wesmen continued to score. A three-pointer by Deborah Nkiasi gave Winnipeg a 59-48 lead after three quarters.
 
The Cougars made a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, getting Winnipeg's lead down to seven points on three different occasions. The Wesmen continued to score as they had all game to end the hope of a comeback. The Cougars outscored the Wesmen in the quarter, scoring 20 points to their 18. It was not enough to surmount the lead Winnipeg had built up through the first three quarters.
 
The Wesmen got contributions from Anna Kernaghan (15 points, four rebounds, six assists), Keylyn Filewich (12 points, seven rebounds, six assists) and Robyn Boulanger (11 points, three assists).
 
Dayna Pearce had her best game in a Cougars uniform, as she scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting and hit 5-of-6 three point attempts. Jade Belmore (15 points), Faith Reid (11 points), and Cara Misskey (11 points) were the other double-digit scorers for the Cougars.
 
The Cougars (6-8) will host the Brandon Bobcats on February 24^th and 25^th in what will be the final games of the regular season for both teams. The Wesmen (13-1) travel to Saskatoon next weekend to take on the Huskies in a showdown for first place in the East Division.

Dayna Pearce keeps it going and hits another three!

She is feeling it tonight! pic.twitter.com/KHXAQAZ76h

— U of R Cougars Women's Basketball (@ReginaCougarWBB) February 13, 2022