LANGLEY, British Columbia – Despite Trinity Western staging a furious fourth-quarter rally in which they went on a 20-2 run, the Spartans were unable to complete the comeback as Regina held on for a 77-68 Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.

Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, the Cougars looked in control of the game as they took a 21-point lead, 68-47. But TWU battled back, going on a 20-2 run to make it 70-67 with just under a minute to play. However, a 3-pointer from Caitlin Zacharias put Regina back up by six and TWU was unable to get any closer.

Jessie Brown (Langley) led TWU with 16 points while Natalie Carkner (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) had 12 points and Kayla Gordon (Prince George, B.C.) had 10 points. Tessa Ratzlaff (Aldergrove, B.C.) had a team-high six rebounds to go with six points.

Regina's Alyssia Kajati had 25 points to go with nine rebounds to lead the Cougars while Charlotte Kot had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Polischuk added 11 points.

Similar to Friday's game, TWU was sharp from beyond the arc, going nine for 21, but struggled on the glass, getting out-rebounded 55-40. However, TWU did collect 23 offensive boards to Regina's 17.

"The reality is that our team can fight hard," said Spartans coach Cheryl Jean-Paul. "We have the ability to fight back into that game. I'm really looking forward to what they take from this game. I thought we responded to some things really well and it was a battle out there. Every box out was a battle. Every rebound was a battle. Every loose ball was a battle and we were ready to take care of business today.

"As I said yesterday, we know we're undersized and they're going to get some inside looks, but I thought our rotations were much sharper in the half court today."

With Carkner leading the way with three 3-pointers, the Spartans raced out to a 20-14 lead after the opening quarter.

However, Regina roared back in the second quarter, outscoring TWU 26-12 and taking a 40-32 lead into halftime. The Spartans opened as much as an eight-point edge at 25-17, but then the Cougars rallied. With TWU up 32-29, Regina finished the half on an 11-0 run to earn an eight-point edge.

The Cougars scored the first six points of the second half to take a 14-point lead and control of the contest. Regina outscored the Spartans 22-15 in the quarter, pushing its lead to 62-47 going into the final frame.

Just over a minute into the fourth quarter, Kot put the visitors up 68-47 with a layup and it looked like the game was all but over. However, TWU had different ideas as they pushed all the way back to within three points. In the end, they couldn't get any closer and the Cougars finished the game on a 7-1 run.

The Spartans have a bye next weekend before hosting UBC Jan. 23-24. The Cougars return to the court Jan. 16-17 when they will travel to play Saskatchewan.
 
"Moving forward, with our schedule, we have an opportunity to see what we look like against teams that expect to be playing in March," Jean-Paul said. "If we want our program to be playing in March, we have to learn how to win these games, but that's the type of energy and intensity that we have to have."

Game Notes: TWU shot 30.8 per cent from the field compared to Regina who shot 45.2 per cent…the Cougars were just 3 for 18 from 3-point range.

-TW-