BOX SCORE CALGARY – The No. 8-ranked University of Calgary Dinos broke open a tight game late in the second quarter and held on for a 91-78 victory over the UNBC Timberwolves Saturday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.

With the win, the Dinos improve to 8-0 on the season under head coach Damian Jennings, while UNBC falls to 3-5 in its first Canada West season.

The final two minutes of the second quarter proved the difference as the Dinos ended the opening half on a 10-0 run. Eight of those 10 points came courtesy Ashley Hirons – part of a 13-point effort on the night for her.

To that point, it was a tight game with the Dinos routinely building up leads of six to eight points and the Timberwolves battling back within two. But UNBC never managed to tie the score or take the lead, and the final two minutes of the first half made it a 12-point Dinos advantage at 43-31 at the break.

The third quarter was wide open, with the teams combining for 57 points and shooting a combined 59.4 per cent from the field. The Dinos enjoyed the top end of that total with 31 points, extending their lead to 74-57 at that point.

UNBC was led by an 18-point effort off the bench from Kady Dendeneau, while Mercedes Van Koughnett added 16. Sarah Robin (14), Jennifer Bruce (11), and Emily Kaehn (10) also scored in the double digits for the Timberwolves.

For the Dinos, playing their second straight game without injured point guard Kristie Sheils, Jessica Franz again led the scoring parade with 19 points on the night. Megan Schaufele added 15 to Hirons's 13, while Erika Romanow (12) and Tamara Jarrett (10) found double digits for Calgary. Alex Cole chipped in with seven points but added 10 big rebounds as the Dinos dominated the battle on the glass by a 45-34 margin, resulting in 22 additional field goals by the Dinos.

UNBC returns home next weekend to host the Alberta Pandas and Saskatchewan Huskies, while the Dinos also head to British Columbia for their final games before the December break. Calgary visits UBC next Friday night, followed by a date against the Victoria Vikes Saturday on the Island.

"Our offence was definitely more by design tonight than yesterday, but defensively we still have plenty to work on," said Jennings. "We're not happy with the open shots we gave, even when we experimented with new defensive systems. I have no doube we will have a focused response from the players in practice this week as we approach probably our hardest road trip of the regular season."

-UC-