Perfect homecoming for veteran University of Regina basketball player

KIanna Wiens played four years in B.C., one in Netherlands before joining Cougars

Published Jan 17, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 3 minute read

University of Regina player KIanna Wiens takes a foul shot against UNBC on Jan. 12, 2024. Photo by Shaira Castillo /U of R Athletics

Kianna Wiens took an interesting route back home to Regina.

It went through Greece, where she joined the University of Regina Cougars for exhibition games in August against five NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball teams.

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“That was a whole experience itself — super awesome!” said Wiens, a guard who is playing her first year with the Cougars while depleting her fifth and final year of U Sports eligibility.

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“We trained hard all summer to be able to compete with those teams.”

Regina lost decidedly in Greece against Arkansas, Baylor, Florida State and Washington State, but it was a closer match against Rutgers, which beat the Cougars 76-72. Between games there was time for sightseeing, to explore Athens, enjoy the sunshine and visit the home town of NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Cougars head coach Dave Taylor unabashedly used the Greece trip as recruiting bait when he invited Wiens to join the team and exhaust her eligibility after she had spent four college years at Trinity Western, earning a degree in kinesiology, and last year playing professionally in Netherlands.

“Oh really? You’re going to Greece for 10 days?” Taylor said with a chuckle, recalling his conversation with Wiens. “When’s that?

“She wanted to get out in the sun. And I wouldn’t let her quit after the 10 days.”

Taylor’s squad actually needed an experienced guard last season when all-star Cara Misskey missed the final three games with an injury, but Wiens was committed to that pro team in eastern Netherlands, the Tubbergen Jolly Jumpers.

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“I had an agent who found me a contract there,” said Wiens. “It was a small town. My teammates all spoke English but a lot of other people in the town didn’t. It was really cool. I liked being overseas, experiencing a different culture and a different style of basketball, for sure.

“It’s more structured, more physical, a slower pace and the players were quite a bit bigger. A lot of the players in the league don’t get paid, but the imports would get a salary. I lived with a host family, although not a lot of people do that. You always have people around and a family to take you in.”

But the lure of joining her hometown Cougars plus, “Hey, it’s Greece” convinced her to play for a team that perennially challenges for a conference championship.

“As much as I love travelling, I also missed home,” said Wiens. “It’s far away. And I like the style of basketball here because I grew up playing this style.

“It was nice to be overseas. I could figure out what I wanted to do career-wise when I was over there and decided I wanted to do education. Then it was a matter of where in Canada? I was out in B.C. before. That was when Dave came into the picture and contacted me because I had this one year of eligibility left.”

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The Cougars were “guard-heavy” when Wiens graduated from Riffel High School, said Taylor. So instead of red-shirting at the U of R she went to Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C., quickly became a starter and had a stellar career with the Spartans. Trinity Western was 15-3 in her senior season as Wiens averaged 12.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

“By her fourth year we really could have used her,” said Taylor. “But we talk to our players about pathways and she had a great opportunity at Trinity. It wouldn’t be fair, it’s not the right thing to do (keeping her on the sidelines in Regina) because it’s their life.

“She loved her time at Trinity and every summer she trained with us. So it’s perfect now. It’s incredible to bring in a fifth-year player with her experience. Somebody who’s such a good teammate, the ultimate low-maintenance athlete who is always prepared, puts the team first, just everything you would want in a student-athlete. She fit right into everything.”

An aggressive defender who can start fast breaks or shoot three-pointers, Wiens scored 17 and nine points in back-to-back home victories last weekend against the University of Northern British Columbia, helping the Cougars improve their conference record to 8-4.

They meet 6-6 Mount Royal University on Friday and Saturday at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport. Tipoff is 6 p.m. each night.

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