SASKATOON - With a 75-64 victory over the University of Calgary Dinos in Game two of the Canada West women's basketball quarter-final series, the Saskatchewan Huskies are moving on, while the Dinos' season comes to a close.
BOX SCORE
Ashley Hill was best on the night for the Dinos, scoring 22 points, while Alex Cole added 13. Three Dinos finished the game with six rebounds – Cole, Kiersten Hilton and Tilly Ettinger.
The No. 1 ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies solidified home court advantage for the first time in their history in the Canada West Final Four. The Huskies will host the University of Fraser Valley Cascades, University of Regina Cougars and University of Alberta Pandas March 4-5 in the Final Four championship.
Katie Miyazaki led the Huskies to Saturday night's victory at the PAC with 22 points, followed by Jill Humbert with 15 and Marci Kiselyk with 12. Kiselyk was also strong on the boards nabbing 10 rebounds.
With nothing to lose in the affair, Calgary pushed the Huskies throughout the entire game shutting down Canada West leading scorer Kim Tulloch to just nine points in the game and none in the second quarter.
Although the Dinos never had a lead in the game, Calgary played the Huskies strong scoring no less than four points than Saskatchewan in each of the quarters. The Huskies opened the game 4-0 before Hill hit a three pointer from the top of the arc to make the game 4-3. Five points by Tulloch gave the Huskies an eight-point lead and the largest in the first half. The first frame ended with the Huskies ahead 17-14.
The Huskies were able to grow a seven point lead in the second quarter but Calgary shooters would not go away and pulled within four. Humbert gave the Huskies a six point lead heading into half time at 30-24.
Saskatchewan kept ahead throughout the third quarter and fought off the Dinos every shot. The closest Calgary would come in the second half was within six points. The Huskies led 47-40 at the end of the third quarter and outscored the Dinos 28-24 in the fourth en route to the win.
The Huskies shot 41.9% in the game, while the Dinos shot 38.9%.
Saskatchewan will play in the first game of the Canada West Final Four at 6:15 p.m. Friday against the Cascades, who upset the ranked Winnipeg Wesmen. The Cougars and Pandas will play at 8 p.m. The winners of each semifinal will meet in the gold medal game at 8 p.m. on March 5, while the losers will play for bronze at 6:15 p.m.
The winner of the Final Four will move directly on to the CIS Championship in Windsor March 18-21. The second, third and fourth place teams, as well as Winnipeg, will travel to three different CIS Regional Championships across the country.
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