CALGARY – It had all the makings of an upset: a unique coaching strategy, a comeback by the home side, and foul trouble for the visitors. But the University of Calgary Dinos let one slip away Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym, falling 66-65 on two late free throws by the Saskatchewan Huskies' Jill Humbert.

BOX SCORE

With just 39 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Courtney Coyle broke a 62-62 tie with a clutch three-ball to put the sixth-ranked Dinos up by three. Kim Tulloch responded for the Huskies with a layup only seconds later, however, forcing Calgary into a shooting situation with more than 24 seconds remaining. A missed trey by Coyle and a Saskatchewan rebound gave the Huskies the ball back with a shot to win the game, and Coyle was called for an unsportsmanlike foul on Humbert with 2.5 ticks left on the clock.. The third-year guard made both clutch free throws to put the Huskies in front, and Saskatchewan successfully inbounded the ball to run out the clock.

The late foul spoiled an otherwise brilliant outing for Coyle, who posted a season-high 19 points on four game-changing three-point hoops. However, like most of her teammates, Coyle struggled from the free throw line, connecting on just one of five attempts. Rookie Ashley Ashman went 4-for-9, and the Dinos as a team missed 14 – any one of which would have impacted the game's outcome. For a team shooting better than 65 per cent from the line on the season, those lost points meant the difference between the upset win and a heartbreaking loss.

The Dinos opened the game tentatively, managing just 10 points in the first quarter as the players got used to the new lineup on the floor. Calgary head coach Shawnee Harle shook things up, playing with two five-player units on the floor and substituting all five on and off at once through the entire game.  And in the second quarter, it worked. Down by as many as 10 points, the frequent line changes allowed the Dinos to claw back into it, and back-to-back threes by Coyle gave them their first lead of the night at 27-26. Calgary took a 30-27 edge into the second half.

The third quarter opened with both teams employing a run 'n gun offence, with 16 points scored in the first two minutes. Calgary extended its lead up to 46-39, but the Huskies embarked on a 7-0 run from there, and another free throw by Humbert tied it up at 46-46.

Calgary led 47-46 to start the fourth and built on that lead early before a 5-0 mini-run by Saskatchewan put the fourth-ranked Huskies up 53-52 – their first lead since late in the second quarter. The Dinos took the lead right back and did not relinquish it – until there were just 2.5 seconds left.

Humbert's 20-point effort, nine of which came out of her 10 free throw attempts, led all players on the night, while Kim Tulloch added 17 for the Huskies. Jana Spindler had a monstrous night on the glass, hauling down 11 boards to go with six points in 25 minutes' work.

Alex Cole poured in 11 points for Calgary while Ashman added 10. All but 22 of Calgary's points came from outside the starting five, as the Dinos' two top scorers – Ashley Hill and Whitney Haswell – were held to just one and five points, respectively.

The loss drops the Dinos to 6-7 on the year and puts them in tough for a second seed in the division standings and the associated home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The win for the Huskies (11-2), meanwhile, maintains their two-point edge over Alberta for top spot in the division as the stretch drive begins.

Calgary and Saskatchewan will play the rubber match Saturday night in the Jack Simpson Gym, with tip-off at 6 p.m.

-UC-