DAVID LARKINS, Wesmen Athletics

WINNIPEG — Playing without their star forward, the Winnipeg Wesmen just had too much to handle against one of the top teams in Canada.

Kyanna Giles had 22 points to lead all scorers and the No. 9-ranked Regina Cougars pulled off an 89-43 Canada West conference win Friday night at the Duckworth Centre.

The Wesmen played without conference leading scorer Faith Hezekiah, who had an academic commitment, and a young-and-raw lineup was outmatched by one of the conference's heavy-hitters.

Carolina Goncalves added 12 and Faith Reid 11, both off the bench, for the Cougars, who moved to 14-3 on the season and stand in a tie for second place in the conference.

Robyn Boulanger had 11 to lead the Wesmen, who fell to 6-11 and are in a dogfight for a playoff spot in the final three games of the season.

The Cougars opened the game on a 14-0 run, but the Wesmen responded with a 16-2 run of their own to pull to 16-16 after a quarter. 

But Regina began to swing things its way in the second, first with an 8-2 run to start the frame, then with a 30-10 third quarter that put the Wesmen away.

"I think we definitely showed some fight in that first quarter when we were down 14," Wesmen head coach Tanya McKay said. "Even in that fourth quarter when we only played the first- and second-year kids, it's getting them time and experience. There were a lot of lessons being learned. For the game, it's tough. (The Cougars) are a good team and they're veteran. Unfortunately, they got on a roll and we couldn't stop it."

For his part, Regina head coach Dave Taylor said he wasn't overly pleased with some hit-and-miss play from his side.

"I don't think it's a shock to anybody that team playing without Faith, that's a different team," Taylor said. "I think we got some inside presence going a little bit, too. 

"To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with our team tonight because I didn't think we played 40 minutes. This close to playoffs that's the challenge: You have to be playing 40 minutes. I liked what we did in the second half and I liked what we did at times in the first half, but not all of it."

Regina hit 10 of 25 from three, while the Wesmen went 7-for-32. From the field, the Cougars were 30-for-57 (52.6 per cent) and the Wesmen were 16-for-70 (22.9 per cent).

The teams meet again Saturday and Hezekiah, who averages 22.8 points per game, is expected to play.

Photo: David Larkins/Wesmen Athletics