BOX SCORE

CALGARY – Led by a sterling effort by fifth-year guard Megan Lang, the unranked University of Calgary Dinos improved to 6-2 on the season with an electrifying 78-75 overtime upset of the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, the UBC Thunderbirds, Saturday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.

The big win followed up another tight contest that ended in the Dinos' favour, Friday's 69-64 win over the Victoria Vikes. The weekend marks the first time in since the 2000-01 season that the Dinos have swept a weekend against either UBC, Victoria, or a combination of the two teams.

Lang was stellar in every sense of the word for the Dinos, scoring 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including 5-for-7 from long range. She added a game-high four offensive rebounds and scored five of Calgary's 11 points in overtime.

“In everything we do on both ends of the floor, Megan is the glue,” said Dinos head coach Shawnee Harle. “I have so much trust and faith that she's going to find a way to get it done, and on nights that she doesn't score, she still defends and rebounds. She played like an experienced, fifth-year kid tonight.”

“I've been feeling a big win coming for a couple of weeks now, and I thought beating Victoria last night was a big win too,” said Harle, whose team will host the 2012 CIS Women's Basketball Final 8 March 17-19 in the Jack Simpson Gym. “Both teams battled and scrapped us very hard. UBC is a very, very good team, and our margin of error in order to beat them was very, very small. Full credit to our players for battling right to the end. We still had some juice in the tank and were able to push the ball against them at the end.”

The game was back and forth all night, with 13 tie scores and a dozen lead changes in an entertaining affair. The night opened with both teams on fire, combining for 34 shots in the first quarter alone – a 10-minute span with ended with Calgary leading 26-23. The offence cooled down from there, with Calgary maintaining a 39-36 lead at the half.

UBC outscored the Dinos 16-12 in the third to take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter, but an early three-pointer by Ashley Hirons gave Calgary back the lead. The Dinos opened the fourth with an 11-2 run that put them up by eight points, but the Thunderbirds wouldn't go away and continued to chip away at the lead. A jumper down low by Kristjana Young with just under two minutes to go brought UBC within two points, and a trey from Alex Vieweg Gave UBC the lead with 80 seconds to play.

Tamara Jarrett hit from 15 feet to tie it up at 67 and, while the Dinos had two chances to inbound the ball on the offensive baseline for the game-winning shot, UBC's defence held fast to send the game to extra time.

In overtime, the Dinos opened with another run, this time 9-2 to make it 76-69. A pair of free throws by Young brought the Thunderbirds back within one at 76-75, but Jenna Kaye iced with win with two from the stripe of her own in the final seconds.

Young was sensational herself, recording 31 points on the night for UBC. Leigh Stansfield added 16, while Vieweg's 11 and 10 from Zara Huntley also contributed to UBC's cause.

For the Dinos, Kaye added another 15 points to wrap up a solid weekend for her, adding nine rebounds and seven assists on the night. Hirons hit three clutch three-balls to wind up with nine points, while Jarrett added eight.

The game was the final regular season contest of 2011 for both squads as they enter the Christmas break. Conference play re-starts Jan. 6-7, 2012 when UBC hosts Alberta and Saskatchewan while Calgary visits Fraser Valley and Trinity Western.

-UC-