(By University of Regina Sports Information)

REGINA, Sask. – The University of Regina's women's basketball team clamped down defensively as the Cougars rolled to a big 82-43 win over UBC Okanagan on Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Like they did a night earlier, the Cougars took control of this one early. The home side scored 14 consecutive points over three and a half minutes in the first quarter to open up a double-digit lead, and a 9-0 run in the second helped them get ahead 39-20 at the half.

Regina simply outgunned UBC Okanagan in the third quarter, outscoring the Heat by a 24-8 margin.

"I thought we were much more consistent with our defensive effort and execution, which I was obviously happy about," Cougars head coach Dave Taylor said. "We struggled sometimes finishing shots, but we were consistent in getting good looks offensively."

Kyanna Giles again led the Cougars in scoring and rebounding, collecting 20 points and 11 boards for her sixth double-double of the Canada West schedule. Angela Bongomin got the start for the second straight night and responded with another nice game, going 6-for-7 from the field and finishing with 14 points.

Faith Reid gave the Cougars an offensive spark off the bench, drilling three three-pointers and scoring 15 points in just 19 minutes on the floor.

Jordan Korol just missed out on a double-double for UBC Okanagan, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds. The Heat drop to 0-16 on the year with four more opportunities for their first conference win of the year. They'll close out the year with a pair of home games against both Mount Royal and Victoria.

The win officially nails down a playoff berth for the Cougars, who will head to the postseason for the 24th consecutive year as they continue an impressive streak that started way back in 1996. They'll hit the road each of the following two weeks, with away games against Thompson Rivers (Jan. 18/19) and Winnipeg (Jan. 25/26) upcoming.