FINAL FOUR: REGINA 81 WINNIPEG 70

SASKATOON – The University of Regina’s women’s basketball team earned an automatic berth to next weekend’s U SPORTS Championship and will play for a Canada West title after an 81-70 win over Winnipeg on Friday night in a Canada West semifinal game at the Physical Activity Centre on the University of Saskatchewan campus.

Christina McCusker had a huge game for the Cougars, scoring a career-high 22 points to lead the U of R while Avery Pearce added 13 points and Kyanna Giles scored 11.

“We had a lot of different people step up and make shots tonight,” Cougars head coach Dave Taylor said. “You’ll hear this quote a lot from me at this point of the season – it wasn’t always pretty, but a win is a win in the postseason and I’m absolutely thrilled with this team for making it back to nationals.”

The Cougars will square off with Canada West Final Four host Saskatchewan on Saturday night (7:00) as the two provincial rivals meet in the conference championship game for the second time. Regina and the U of S also played for a Canada West title in both 2011 and 2016 in Saskatoon, with the Huskies winning both of those contests.

(Courtesy Braden Konshuch/U of R Athletics)