Season’s highlight for U of R women’s basketball team
2025-26 Season
If we told you that two of the best teams in USports women’s basketball played in Saskatchewan, would you believe us?
Well, if you are a University of Regina (U of R) student, you might. The U of R Cougars were on fire this season, with an 18-3 regular season record, and stood second in the Canada West Prairie Division.
The team had an outstanding season both as a group and as individual athletes. Jade Belmore set the record for most points (1838) and rebounds (897) and Cara Misskey has the most assists (475) in the program’s history. Belmore and Izzi Fust have also represented Canada at national tournaments. These athletes will be remembered for their time in the Cougars gym for many years to come.
The Cougars faced off against the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) Heat on Feb. 14, following the Heat’s win against the Brandon Wildcats in a play-in game the previous afternoon. The Cougars won 74-48 and headed to the University of British Columbia to play the Thunderbirds in semi final action on Feb. 20.
A new head coach
Now, if you have ever been to a Cougars women’s basketball game, you may be familiar with the best-dressed person in the gym: Cougars interim head coach Michaela Kleisinger.
Having moved into the position at the beginning of the season following the departure of former head coach Dave Taylor, Kleisinger has been a fantastic change for the program.
Kleisinger is a Regina local, a 2015 graduate of Campbell Collegiate, and played as a Cougar herself from 2015-2020. She played a career total of 128 games and 2939 total minutes, averaging 23 minutes per game on the court. She also had a total of 855 career points. She was also named an Academic All-Canadian during her time as a student athlete.
Kleisinger is happy with the season her team has had this year. The group sat down at the beginning of the season and set some goals, some of which, Kleisinger recalled, were lofty.
Kleisinger also said she believed that the team could achieve all of the goals on their list, and that she is happy with the response from the athletes to the coaching changes. The team comradery which is essential to make these goals a reality is very strong.
Kleisinger made a point to support athletes’ bonding beyond just telling them to get along. The season is long as the teams tip off for the first time in September and if the season is successful all the way to the USports final, they do not finish until the weekend of Mar. 5. That is over 250 hours of practice alone.
They did mental health exercises, got to know each other’s learning styles to help communication, and team bonding beyond the lines of the court. Obviously, it worked. Kleisinger says the athletes often hang out outside of team-sanctioned activities like dressing up as a group for Halloween or having a team Galentine’s night following their Feb. 14 game.
On Feb. 3, 2025, the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport (CKHS) gym was sold out for the Cougars’ U Prairie Challenge game against the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Huskies.
This was a rescheduled game on a Tuesday night following the ice storm the previous weekend. The gym was packed with family members, community spectators, students, faculty, the entire Regina Rams roster, and several other teams from the U of R’s varsity athletics department.
While the Cougars unfortunately lost the game 69-81, the unwavering support from the city was not missed by Kleisinger.
“I mean, I told the girls the whole time, like, you have to have fun. You have to, at least one time tonight, look around and see this. 2,500 people are coming to watch you play. That’s incredible and it’s cool for women’s sports,” she shared.
The support from the students at the U of R goes way beyond what one might think. The U of R is a small campus and we really do support our own. Kleisinger mentioned that some Rams athletes come and practice against the team to help them practice blocking bigger, taller athletes.
“They’re not more skilled from a basketball perspective, but they’re more athletic and they’re big. So, they make us better and they’re so invested in it [as well].”
Kleisinger also noted that having male athletes come to the gym and be as active in the stands as they are is amazing to have around younger fans, specifically mentioning her friend’s young son who is five and has attended many Cougars games. During the Feb. 3 game, the youngster requested his mum to also take his shirt off like many of the Rams athletes had.
“He sees all these grown men cheering for us and there’s no qualms about it. Like the football team is there for us,” Kleisinger said.
The normalcy of support that the male athletes have for the women’s sports at the U of R is really special and proves that women’s sports are just as entertaining as men’s sports.
2,500 people are coming to watch you play. That’s incredible and it’s cool for women’s sports.” – Michaela Kleisinger
Shoot for a Cure
Another really special aspect of the women’s basketball program in the country is their Shoot for a Cure initiative. Every season, the women’s basketball programs across the USports schools hold fundraising events for cancer research.
Each school fundraises for a Cancer charity of their choosing and puts it under the Shoot for a Cure initiative. The program began in Newfoundland and was originally created to raise funds for breast cancer research.
This year, the Cougars held a half court shooting contest for the cause during halftime at the Cougars men’s basketball game on Jan 24. Each athlete gained pledges and had two opportunities to throw a basketball from the half court into the net. Surprisingly, at least five athletes made one of their two shots. The team raised around $6,000.
The money raised went to the Kevin Tell Legacy Fund. Tell’s daughter, Madeline, played for the Cougars and won the 2001 championship with the team. Tell sadly passed away from bladder cancer around four years ago. Since then, the team has sent the money they raise to his legacy fund.
“We all unfortunately have those people that have had impacts on our lives and are no longer with us. So, we try to just sort of raise awareness for the local cause,” Kleisinger explained.
The Cougars’ chances of making it to the finals looked promising before the. Feb. 20 Cougars vs UBC Thunderbirds match. Unfortunately, the Cougars lost the Feb. 20 game 74-68 making the Thunderbirds the first team to enter the finals.
In the University of Calgary Dinos vs the USask Huskies game, the Dinos beat the Huskies 61-58 making them the second team to qualify for the finals.
The UBC Thunderbirds are now set to play against the Dinos for the Canada West final on Friday, Feb. 27.
Despite all, the season has been a great one for the Cougars who have made the U of R proud. Go Cougars!
