BOX SCORE CALGARY – Led by a sparkling effort by British import Kristie Sheils, the University of Calgary Dinos improved to 4-0 on the season with a 76-72 win over the Alberta Pandas Friday night.

The win, which follows a 65-61 triumph in the series opener Thursday, kept the Dinos and new head coach Damian Jennings undefeated on the young season, sweeping the Pandas in conference play for the second year in a row. Alberta falls to 2-2 on the season.

Sheils picked up 27 points on the night, none more spectacular than a trey that rattled rim, glass, then rim three times before falling through to give the Dinos the game-winning points with 28.8 seconds to play. On the night, she went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc and 7-of-15 from the field in another game where the Dinos were forced to play from behind after the half and hold on for a late win.

“Kristie has adjusted very well, and she's starting to find her feet in scoring and her role beyond just being a leader on a new team,” said Jennings. “She's now starting to make an impact on the stat line.

“Clearly we're very pleased with the result. We put the first four games into a mini-schedule of its own and we're pleased to come out with the result, being 4-0. More importantly, in our half-court defence we made some real improvements in how we contained and worked off the ball for each other, and that bodes well going forward. We're excited about the fresh challenge of going on the road against Saskatchewan.”

Calgary came out and put up 16 points in the first 10 minutes, earning a three-point lead heading into the second quarter. But there the Pandas put up big offensive numbers, scoring 27 to take a 40-38 lead into half time.

The Dinos responded in the third with a big quarter of their own, outpacing the Pandas 23-17 to take a four-point lead into the fourth. Alberta battled back in the final frame and took the lead with less than five minutes to play at 69-68. The score remained at that mark for almost two and a half minutes as both teams got stops on defence, and eventually a pair of Sheils free throws gave the Dinos back the lead. Her clutch three followed to salt the game away for Calgary.

Tamara Jarrett also had a solid night for the Dinos, scoring 19 on 8-of-8 shooting from the line. Megan Schaufele added eight points, while Jessica Franz scored seven to go with and equal number of rebounds on the night.

For Alberta, Anneka Bakker once again led the way with an 18-point effort, followed by Jessilyn Fairbanks's 15. Maddie Rogers was the other Panda in double-digits, scoring 11.

The Dinos did a good job holding onto the ball, committing just nine turnovers on the night compared to 19 for the Pandas – making up for Alberta's significant 48-30 advantage on the glass. Kendra Asleson accounted for 11 of those rebounds for the Pandas.

Alberta returns home next weekend to host the Lethbridge Pronghorns, while the Dinos take their show on the road for the first time in league play with a two-game visit to Saskatoon to take on the Saskatchewan Huskies.

-UC-