Cougars outlast Heat to advance to CW quarter-final

VANCOUVER – The Regina Cougars secured a hard-fought 64-56 win over UBCO Heat on Friday night at War Memorial gym to clinch a spot in the Canada West quarter-final. The Cougars built an early lead, but the Heat fought back to tie the game in the second half. UBCO’s tenacity created opportunities, but in the end Regina’s experience and composure brought them to victory.

“Honestly the difference was probably just that we are a little more of a veteran team than they are,” said Regina head coach Dave Taylor. “Some of our players down the stretch had good composure and got some shots. Full credit to UBCO, they did a great job taking us out of a lot of stuff, but down the stretch, we had some smart plays from our veterans.”

Rachel Vanderhooft led the winning team in scoring with 18 points and nine rebounds. Cara Misskey put up 17 points with seven rebounds, while Jade Belmore added 10 points and 9 rebounds.

For the Heat, Lily Pink stood out with 18 points, while teammates Lauren Foullong and Kelsey Falk had 11 points and 14 rebounds, respectively.

“Overall, we thought we played well,” said UBCO head coach Bobby Mitchell. “The third quarter was probably our most consistent quarter and then I thought in the fourth quarter there were a couple decisions I think we’d like to have back but it was good, we played how we wanted to play and that was key. We wanted to do the things that we did, I liked our compete and our fight and our energy throughout the game for sure. It’s not easy to get here, we had to do some work in term two and we did that so overall I’m very proud and the future looks good, a lot of our young players got big minutes tonight, played well and our veterans are leaving them in good hands, so they were good for those young players.”

The first quarter started scrappy, with both teams showing how much was on the line. Regina broke the deadlock with the first basket after a couple of scoreless minutes. UBCO’s shots weren’t falling, and the Cougars quickly built an 8-0 lead with fast-break layups from Belmore and Vanderhooft. The Heat earned their first points at the free-throw line, adding a jump shot, three-pointer, and layup to erase the eight-point deficit and tie the game. With the game recovered, the pace turned frantic, full of steals and turnovers. Regina regained control late, closing the quarter with a tight 15-10 lead.

UBCO opened the second quarter with back-to-back fast breaks, cutting the lead to one. Regina responded with two threes from Cara Misskey, sandwiched by a Falk layup, to extend their advantage to 21-16. The Cougars kept the offense rolling, stretching the lead to 30-20, but UBCO wasn’t done. Pink sparked a 6-0 unanswered run that brought the Heat within four, closing the half 30-26.

The third quarter saw the Heat take their first lead of the game after a steal from Pink set up Tennyson McCarthy for a basket, making it 35-34. UBCO kept up the intensity, with more steals and an Aiko Williams three-pointer pushing their largest lead to 40-36. McCarthy added a huge block, as the Heat dominated rebounds and forced turnovers. Regina tied the game in the final minute, and UBCO couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer ended the quarter at 44-44.

The teams traded three-pointers to start the fourth, but a pivotal and-one play by Regina’s Rachel Vanderhooft shifted the momentum in the Cougars’ favour. Though the score remained close, UBCO began to show signs of fatigue, racking up fouls that disrupted their rhythm. Regina took advantage, building a 10-point lead heading into the final minute. The Heat attempted a late comeback, but the Cougars’ composure and experience sealed the deal with a 64-56 victory, punching their ticket to a Canada West Quarter-Final meeting Saturday against the host UBC Thunderbirds.

“My worry tonight was to be in one of these close games where we have to expend a lot of energy because UBC is probably the deepest team in the conference,” added Taylor when asked about Saturday’s quarter-final matchup. “The challenge with a quick turnaround is can we handle UBC's depth? When we played them earlier in October, we had the lead at some point in the fourth quarter, but their depth overwhelmed us, so that's my big concern tomorrow. I don't think we played great today, so maybe we have some left for tomorrow.” 

The Cougars will now face the UBC Thunderbirds in the conference quarter-final Saturday at 4:00 p.m. PT at War Memorial Gym.