CALGARY – Fourth-year forward Ashley Hill put up 27 points as the University of Calgary Dinos rebounded from a tight Friday loss to defeat the Winnipeg Wesmen 87-81 Saturday night, earning a split of their season-opening weekend series.

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The teams combined for an impressive 328 points over the weekend as offence most certainly got the better of defence on both sides. Saturday, however, the Dinos made the defensive plays when they had to en route to their come-from-behind victory.

“I said kind of sarcastically at halftime that this game is about which team is the worst on defence,” said Dinos head coach Shawnee Harle. “The 'I want to score more than I want to defend' will win you some games, but in the long haul it's not the answer. With this young team I'm trying to get them habits that are going to help them win in February, regardless of what happens in October.

“The difference last night was just our stinky first quarter, where it looked like we hadn't defended before. Having said that, we gave up one more point in the first quarter tonight than we did last night, but we also scored more so the hole wasn't as big. All I know is that this team is going to be in every game, one way or another. And I didn't think we played badly last night, I think Winnipeg played and shot very well, so I didn't feel we had to make a lot of adjustments.”

After spotting the Wesmen a 28-17 lead after 10 minutes in Friday's opener, the Dinos kept the deficit to just five at 29-24 heading into the second quarter Saturday. The entire game was much tighter, with neither team holding a double-digit lead at any point in the night and six lead changes overall, including two in the fourth quarter.

Hill's 27 points came on 7-17 shooting, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc as she found her range with the long ball. Her final hoop of the evening came with just under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter, extending the Dinos' lead to six points with the Wesmen in foul trouble. Three Winnipeg players fouled out in the dying moments, with the Wesmen losing the services of three of their top four scorers in Jessica Stromberg, Amy Ogidan, and Alex MacIver down the stretch.

The officials called a total of 52 fouls on the night and, though the Dinos did have three players finish with four infractions, only Megan Lang fouled out.

Caitlin Gooch was effective again for Winnipeg with 21 points on the night, while MacIver added 13. Stromberg and Mackenzie Prasek drained 11 each, while Ogidan hit double digits with 10. Kaitlyn Rempel led all players with 10 rebounds on the night, eight of which came off the offensive glass.

Megan "Shorty" Schaufele followed up Hill's 27 with 16 of her own, while ## was the only other Dino to hit double digits in scoring with 12. Schaufele managed to grab five defensive boards from her point guard spot and finished with six rebounds on the night, second only to Robyn Gibson's eight for Calgary.

The win vaults the Dinos up to 1-1 on the season, while Winnipeg falls to the same 1-1 score. Both teams head to Winnipeg for their next action, where the Wesmen will host the Alberta Pandas while the Dinos pay a visit to the Manitoba Bisons next weekend.

-UC-