BOX SCORE CALGARY – The Calgary Dinos improved to 2-0 on the young Canada West season with an impressive second-half showing to upend the Manitoba Bisons 97-66 Saturday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.

The win lifts the Dinos to 2-0 on the season, while Manitoba falls to 0-2.

Calgary put up 30 points in two of the four quarters, thanks in large part to a 26-point effort by fifth-year forward Jessica Franz, while Kristie Sheils went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc to finish with 18.

The Dinos actually trailed 46-43 at half time but held the Bisons to just 20 second-half points while scoring 54 as they cruised to the 31-point win.

"We learned some valuable lessons tonight in what happens when you come away from the style & tempo of play you train to achieve,” said Dinos head coach Damian Jennings, now 2-0 in his young CIS coaching career. “In the first and second quarters we allowed Manitoba to dictate how we defended and we came away from our fast break and transition offense.

“That said, the second half reflected our ambition more closely and I am impressed that we also learnt that we have the capacity to respond when down. The variety of scoring and the defense played to the depth of the shot clock made the difference in the second half."

Sheree Carmona-Galdamez and Robyn Eyer led the way for the Bisons with 17 points each, while Rebecca Potter chipped in with 10.

Calgary shot the ball extremely well on the night at 50 per cent exactly, including a strong 8-for-19 showing from long range. Ashley HIrons and Tamara Jarrett joined Franz and Sheils in double digits with 13 and 11 points, respectively, while speedy guard Megan Schaufele was the team's leading rebounder with eight on the night.

The Dinos remain home next weekend for a Thursday-Friday series against the Alberta Pandas, beginning Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Jack Simpson Gym. Manitoba returns home for the Bisons' home opener weekend against the Brandon Bobcats.

-UC-