by Scott McLean, SFU Sports Information
BURNABY, B.C. - The No. 4-ranked University of Regina Cougars punched their ticket to the 2010 CIS national championship on Friday night, defeating the No. 6 Alberta Pandas 86-77 to advance to the Canada West championship game on Saturday night.
The Cougars will face the hometown and No. 1 Simon Fraser University Clan at 7:00 p.m. PST in a rematch of the 2009 CIS final for the Canada West title. Alberta will meet the No. 3 Saskatchewan Huskies at 5:00 p.m., with the victor earning the final Canada West berth to the CIS tournament.
Regina racked up 30 points in the third quarter, generating a 13-to-2 run to open the period to take control of the game. It completely turned the game's momentum, as it was the Pandas who had the advantage at halftime, up one (35-34) at the half after utilizing 9-0 run to start the second quarter. The Cougars held court in the final frame, as Alberta was never able to cut Regina's lead to less than seven points.
Joanna Zalesiak finished as the night's top scorer, posting 22 points, including shooting 8-for-14 from the field for the Cougars in the win. Regina finished with five players in double digits, with Lindsay Ledingham and Carmen Stewart each scoring 15 points, while Stacey Walker finished with 12 points and Brittany Read added 11 before leaving the game with an injury.
For the Pandas, Anneka Baker finished with a team-high 20 points, while Marisa Haylett added 16 points in the loss. The Pandas out rebounded the Cougars 34-to-29.
Game Notes
The Cougars advance to the CIS national championship for the third
straight season, and have played in two straight CIS Finals,
falling in 2008 to UBC 67-46... Alberta has been to two of the last
three CIS events, including making the semifinals last season.