WINNIPEG — The Manitoba Bisons women's basketball team met the Regina Cougars Friday night at Investors Group Athletic Centre for the first of two games this weekend. The Bisons were unable to secure their first win of the young season, dropping the match 68-52.

Seven and eight-point deficits in the first and third quarters proved costly for the Bisons, who saw their late comeback attempt fall short.

"We had a really slow start to the third quarter," said Bisons head coach Michele Sung. "We just didn't execute."

The win for Regina was their first in five games. Fourth-year guard Faith Reid led the way for the Cougars with 22 points.

"We know the shooter she is," said Regina head coach Dave Taylor. "We know that if we get her good looks, she will knock them down."

The Cougars used a 10-0 run to end the first quarter to give them a 23-15 advantage over the home team. Three Regina players shared the first quarter scoring lead with five points each.

In the second quarter, Jade Belmore scored five points for Regina to push their lead to 35-25 over the Bisons at the break. A strong first half from Manitoba's fifth-year guard Taylor Randall gave her a game-high nine points to lead all scorers through 20 minutes. As a team, the Bisons shot 26.5 percent from the field and were outrebounded 27-26 in the first half.

The Bisons were slow out of the gates to start the second half and found themselves down by 17 heading into the final frame. Regina scored ten unanswered points to start the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. Taylor Randall finished with a team-high 17 points for the Bisons, who dropped to 0-3 on the season.

Manitoba will aim for a different outcome on Saturday when the teams square off again at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.