REGINA – Despite an 83-46 setback to the Regina Cougars Saturday night, the University of Calgary Dinos clinched a Canada West playoff berth and will battle for home court advantage through the rest of the season.

The Cougars scored the game's first 16 points and never looked back, improving their Canada West record to 14-2 with the win as they remain tied with Alberta for second place in the conference standings.

Christina McCusker and Katie Polischuk both scored 15 points for the Cougars, while Kyanna Giles added 13 points and six rebounds. Angela Bongomin and Michaela Kleisinger both matched Giles with six rebounds as the Cougars enjoyed a 56-31 rebounding advantage in the win.

Brie Wilcox came off the bench to lead Calgary (8-8) with 10 points.

The Cougars opened the game showing the same defensive intensity that they played with in the second half of Friday's win, not allowing Calgary its first field goal until a Michal Assaf layup six and a half minutes into the game. McCusker scored the first six points during Regina's 16-0 run to start the game, which helped the Cougars out to a 28-9 lead after the opening period. Regina led by 46-19 at the halftime break, and extended its lead to 63-29 after three.

For the second consecutive night, the Cougars enjoyed a pronounced advantage in points off turnovers. Regina had 29 points off Calgary miscues compared to 11 for the Dinos. The Cougars were 42% from the field, while Calgary was 15-for-59 (25.4%) from the field overall and just 3-for-23 from three-point range.

The Cougars now prepare for a pair of road games against league-leading Winnipeg, which will come into the weekend series with a 15-1 record. Calgary, which nailed down a playoff spot this weekend despite the two losses, will visit Thompson Rivers (2-14) next Friday and Saturday.

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