VANCOUVER - The Regina Cougars escaped War Memorial Gym with a nail-biting win on Friday night, besting the UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team 71-69 on a last-second bucket, despite a phenomenal effort from the Blue and Gold's fifth-year guard Diana Lee (North Vancouver).
 
With 1.1 seconds remaining, and a 69-69 score lit up on the board, Regina forward Alyssia Kajati stuck a dagger into the hearts of the UBC faithful, converting a short-range layup and sealing the win for the visitors from Saskatchewan.
 
The 'Birds had clawed back from a 13-point deficit in the final frame, largely on the back of some stellar shooting from Lee. In the fourth quarter, the Boise State transfer was simply en fuego, picking up 12 points as she sank 5-of-6 shots, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
 
For the contest, Lee finished with a game-high 25 points , while rookie guard Jessica Hanson (Vancouver) was the only other 'Bird to hit double digits in scoring, chipping in with 10.
 
While Lee stole the show for UBC, Regina's Charlotte Kot put in a terrific performance in her own right, as the 6-foot forward collected 20 points, four boards and three assists. Kajati was right behind, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
 
The first frame, ending with UBC and Regina deadlocked at 21-21, was a back-and-forth affair in which both teams showed that they came to play, at least on offense. The Cougars shot 8-of-13 from the floor, while the 'Birds hit 9-of-13 field goal attempts, including both of their attempted triples.
 
The Cougars blasted out of the gate, quickly earning a 5-0 lead off of a three ball from guard Katie Polischuk and the first bucket of many for Kot.
 
Not showing any kind of nerves after falling behind so early, the 'Birds clawed their way back, taking their first lead of the game with four minutes left in the first quarter, going up 12-11 on a quasi-skyhook from third-year guard Cherub Lum (Vancouver).
 
From there, neither side could stop the other, as the Cougars and 'Birds combined four just four missed field goals the rest of the way to the 21-21 tie.
 
Where Regina ran their offense through Kot, who posted a game-high eight points in the first frame, UBC's attack saw Lee, Adrienne Parkin (Vancouver), and Kara Spotton (Fort Collins, Colo.) share the team lead in first quarter scoring, notching four points apiece.
 
Coming out of the break, the Cougars appeared to be ready to pull away in the second frame, going on a 9-4 run and establishing some significant momentum in the opening minutes.
 
With the T-Birds down 30-25 just under four minutes into the frame, Lee did her part to help stop the bleeding, as the 5-foot-7 playmaker hit a beautiful three ball to bring UBC to within a single basket.
 
Neither side seemed to be able to shake the other in the latter half of the second quarter, but a late bucket from Kot helped the Cougars continued to stretch their lead going into halftime, opening up a six-point margin at 38-32.
 
The third quarter can be boiled down to a couple of statistics: 4-for-15, as the 'Birds shot just over 25% from the field in the third frame, and six, the amount of points the Cougars notched off of turnovers in the quarter.
 
Taking full advantage of those UBC miscues and making them count in transition, Regina had opened up a 55-39 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter, though the home side did close the gap to 55-42 as the buzzer sounded off to end the frame.
 
 Showing some real urgency, the 'Birds came out in the fourth and took it to the Cougars, opening the quarter with a 15-4 run, six points of which came off of Lee's hands.
 
Despite another pair of threes from Lee, and a couple of clutch layups from Hanson, in the game's last two minutes, Kot and Kajati were there to answer the bell for the Cougars at every turn.
 
After the game, UBC head coach Deb Huband admitted that, while the result wasn't there, her team, and in particular her star point guard, deserve all kinds of credit for their performance.
 
"I thought our girls really battled well, and we made some adjustments duing the game that were effective," said Huband. "Everyone executed the game plan the way that we wanted them to, and Diana was on fire, and made some big plays to pull us back. I couldn't have asked for more of them."

The 'Birds will get a shot at redemption tomorrow night, as the two teams are set to rematch at 5:00 p.m. (PT), once again taking the floor at War Memorial Gym. 

The Bell NBA All-Star Challenge presented by AIR MILES is making its way across Canada ahead of the 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto, and on Saturday, January 23rd, the competition will make its way to UBC's Point Grey campus.

Saturday's festivities, culminating with the Thunderbirds men's and women's double-header against the Regina Cougars, will be headlined by an NBA skills competition, and appearances from former Vancouver Grizzlies icon Shareef Abdur-Rahim. The NBA will be rolling out the full big-league experience at War Memorial Gym during the two Thunderbird basketball games, as sponsors Bell, Samsung, BMO, and AIR MILES will be doling out prizes, giveaways amidst a host of interactive exhibits and performances.