QUICKLY
Izzi Fust's three-pointer from the top of the arc with 8.7 seconds remaining gave the University of Regina's women's basketball team a thrilling 78-76 win over Mount Royal on Thursday afternoon in Calgary.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Mount Royal stormed out to a double-digit lead in the opening quarter on the strength of its three-point shooting. Maddy Hooper, Hayley Lalor, and Marissa Richards all hit triples in a span of just over 90 seconds, helping the home team open up a 25-14 lead in the late stages of the period.
• The Cougars opened up the second on a 10-2 run as they allowed only a single Mount Royal field goal in the first five minutes of the quarter. MRU took a six-point lead into the halftime break but Regina broke through in the third, getting back-to-back transition buckets by Jade Belmore to give the Cougars their first lead of the game.
• The two teams were separated by just a single possession for almost the entirety of the fourth quarter. They traded several late punches, first on another Lalor three that pulled Mount Royal level at 73-73 with just over a minute to go. Rachel Vanderhooft then hit two clutch free throws to put Regina back up by two with 24 seconds to go, only to have Luca respond with a triple on MRU's next possession which put Mount Royal up 76-75.
• On the ensuing possession, Cara Misskey found Fust wide open at the top of the three-point arc. Fust buried it, and a driving layup attempt by MRU's Jenika Martens at the buzzer hit rim to seal the win for the Cougars.

NOTES

• Fust tied for the game high with 20 points while also adding 6 rebounds and 5 blocks in the win.
• Misskey scored 18 points and had 5 assists.
• Vanderhooft had a double-double, ending up with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
• Belmore scored 8 points while leading all players with 13 rebounds and also collecting a game-high 7 assists.
• The Cougars (8-1) have now won eight consecutive games and sit in first place in Canada West's Prairie Division.
• Martens had 20 points to lead Mount Royal.

NEXT UP
Regina and Mount Royal will meet again on Friday night to close out the first half of the Canada West schedule. Game time is set for 6:00 PM (MST).

 

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