'There's a huge target on our back': U of R women's basketball maintains No. 1 ranking

The University of Regina (U of R) Cougars women’s basketball team has been ranked number one in U Sports for the fourth consecutive week.

“There’s a huge target on our back, and I think we just kind of take that and use that as motivation,” said Cougars’ guard, Jade Belmore.

The Cougars began their season 7-0 and just suffered their first loss of the season to UBCO. They now sit in second in Canada West behind University of Fraser Valley.

“We’ve kind of developed a culture and we’ve really taken pride in that culture and obviously [we’ve] been successful,” said Belmore. “We’ve been putting a lot of time outside, off the court, and trying to build that and clearly it’s been working.”

“We’re a very selfless team. We are always looking out for each other and there’s such a good connection between us off and on the court,” said Cougars’ guard, Dayna Pearce.

Dave Taylor, who is in his 17th year as head coach and 30th with the program, said this team had to rely on a different skill set in order to see success this season.

“Normally our teams we’ve had have been bigger. We’ve been more of an inside team. This team really relies on the three-point shot a lot and we shoot really well,” said Taylor. “We don’t have a lot of size so we have to change the style of how we play this season,” he added.

“He’s (Taylor) really pushed us. He’s kind of said ‘These are our goals and this is where I see you guys and I believe in you guys.’ So far he’s been correct,” said Belmore on Taylor’s coaching style.

The efforts helped the Cougars sweep the University of Saskatchewan Huskies back in November. The huge feat was not lost on the team, as the Huskies are considered one of their biggest rivalries.

“The Friday night was a great feeling because we had gone into it after losing to them in pre-season. So winning that and, you know, winning by significant amounts and everybody contributing, it was just unreal. Probably one of the best moments so far,” said Pearce.

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The Cougars will look to carry that momentum into the second half of the season as the team has now finished the 2022. However, the team knows they have a tough schedule going forward and will need to bring their ‘A’ game in order to maintain their spot atop the rankings.

“It’s a tough stretch because we go six straight weekends and they’re all teams that are very good. In Canada West, it’s so deep that you can lose to any one of those. Our goal is to finish as high as we can in the standings so we can have home playoff games,” said Taylor.

“I think we just have to keep our heads straight and try to focus on the rest of the competition. We’re going to be known as the team to beat but I think every team is going to be a challenge,” said Belmore.

However, Belmore has proven to rise to the challenge on multiple occasions this season, who is leading the team in points so far this season with 165.

“I knew coming out of high school (she would be successful). Obviously her talent, but also what she’s like as a person. Just how hard she works, I’m not surprised at all because this is the kind of player we thought we were going to get,” said Taylor on Belmore.

The Cougars last won a Canada West Championship in the 2017-18 school year but have not won a National Championship since 2000-01. However, the team is not letting the rankings get to their heads.

“We’re hoping (right now) to have home court advantage (come playoffs), but we’ll see. We’ll see how the regular season goes and how far we get, and go from there,” said Pearce.

The Cougars will return to action in the new year where they open 2023 against Victoria.