CALGARY – The youth-laden Calgary Dinos bounced back from an early deficit, but in the end the Winnipeg Wesmen made key shots late as they edged the hosts 81-79 Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.

BOX SCORE

Winnipeg opens the season at 1-0, while the Dinos fall to 0-1.

After a 28-point explosion in the first quarter by the Wesmen that saw them jump out to an 11-point lead after just 10 minutes, the Dinos slowly began to chip away at the deficit which reached a high of 14 early in the second quarter. A jumper by rookie Tamara Jarrett brought Calgary within seven heading into the half.

The Wesmen lead reached 10 again just under three minutes into the second half on a deuce by Jessica Stromberg, but Megan Schaufele found Megan Lang on a fast break for an easy lay-up immediately thereafter, sparking the Dinos on a 13-0 run that culminated in the home side taking a 55-52 lead. Mackenzie Prasek scored Winnipeg's first points in five and a half minutes to end the run, but Calgary took a four-point edge into the final 10 minutes at 62-58.

The strong defensive play that had held Winnipeg to just 30 points in the two middle quarters vanished early in the fourth as the Wesmen found their range again, and Amy Ogidan tied it up 90 seconds into the final 10. Ogidan put Winnipeg up for good seconds later, and the Dinos never got closer than two points from that point forward.

The Wesmen saw their lead extend to six with 16.6 seconds left on the clock, but a three-ball from rookie Tilly Ettinger gave Calgary life with less than 10 seconds to go. Caitlin Gooch went 1-2 from the line in the final five seconds to seal it for Winnipeg, and Lang's lay-up at the buzzer was not enough as Calgary fell 81-79.

Gooch was the offensive catalyst for Winnipeg, scoring 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, including four from beyond the arc. Ogidan added 18 points, while Alex MacIver hit double-double territory with 11 points to match 11 boards. But it was Stromberg that dominated the glass, hauling in 13 rebounds despite shooting just 1-9 from the field for two points.

For Calgary, Ashley Hill scored 19 to pace the Dinos with Jarrett adding 18. Lang and Alex Cole also hit double digits with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Cole had eight rebounds, while Lang added seven to lead the Dinos, who actually out-rebounded their guests 49-45 on the night.

The teams were nearly dead-even from a statistical perspective, with Winnipeg's nine treys to just six for the Dinos the glaring exception.

Calgary and Winnipeg renew acquaintances Saturday night in the re-match, with tip-off at 6 p.m. in the Jack.

-UC-