Four Sask. players named to Canada world junior hockey championship team
Dec 14, 2024
Berkly Catton, Brayden Yager, Caden Price and Tanner Howe were all named.
After two hard fought games Saturday, both the University of Regina Cougars men’s and women’s basketball teams will enter the playoffs off victories after defeating their provincial rivals, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, on the weekend.
Cougars earn first season sweep over Huskies since 2011-12
The University of Regina Cougars women’s basketball team swept the season series against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies for the first time since the 2011-12 season after a 78-64 win Saturday.
But while the Huskies couldn’t find a way to win over the weekend, the team got some help elsewhere and clinched the first overall seed for the Canada West Playoffs.
When the two teams met Friday night, the Cougars had to overcome a 13-point halftime deficit to get the important win over their provincial rivals. A comeback wouldn’t be needed Saturday as the team was in control throughout most of the game.
“We typically shoot the ball better than that and we usually hold teams to less points than what they scored these past two nights but that’s why you play the game and why you want to play tough teams ahead of playoffs,” said Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis following Saturday’s loss.
The Cougars got out to an early lead thanks to some strong defense – the Huskies only hit four of their 17 shots in the opening quarter.
While the Cougars were down by double digits at the half in their first meeting, Regina only trailed for under a minute in the first quarter and entered halftime with the five-point lead.
The Cougars kept the momentum heading into the third quarter, hitting some key three-pointers to help extend the lead to as many as 16.
Some key threes in the fourth and a strong defensive effort led the Cougars to their second win in as many nights against their provincial rival.
“They always get tough, we were just talking about it, this was the first time we’ve ever swept (U of S) so it’s tough but I live for these games, I enjoy them,” said Kyanna Giles, who led the way for the Cougars with 19 points.
Cougars Head Coach Dave Taylor was happy with the consistency the team showed throughout the weekend series, something he said was missing for much of the year.
“We have to play playoff-type basketball and that was good to see, we’ve been harping on that and anybody who’s watched us this year knows we have moments of brilliance and moments of not-so-brilliant play and I like to see the consistency,” said Taylor.
The Cougars will finish the season at the top of the Canada West standings record-wise, but will be seeded third due to the RPI formula Canada West uses.
Each team will host a quarter-finals series in two weeks with the opponents still to be determined.
Cougars men’s team earns split against U of S
A night after letting a late lead slip away, the Cougars men’s basketball team wouldn’t let the Huskies do it for the second night in a row and clinched the fifth seed with a 96-88 win.
The Huskies didn’t lead the entire game after giving up a 14-3 run to start the opening quarter.
While the Huskies got the game within single digits before halftime, the Cougars jumped out to a 9-0 run to begin the second half to help put Regina back up big.
Lawrence Moore, who scored 24 points in the fourth quarter alone on Friday, scored a game-high 24 points Saturday but it wouldn’t be enough.
The Cougars were led by three players who each scored 16 points for the team – Greishe Clerjuste, Benjamin Hillis and Carter Millar.
The Huskies will still finish fourth in terms of RPI so they will host a quarter-finals series in two weeks.
The Cougars, who will finish the season with three more wins than the Huskies, will be seeded fifth and will host a Canada West play-in game against Mount Royal University on Feb. 8. It will be the first time the two squads have met in the postseason.