BOX SCORE REGINA – No longer in the running for a national title, the University of Calgary Dinos women's basketball team will have to settle for a chance at bronze after falling 82-65 to the two-time defending CIS champion Windsor Lancers Saturday night in the first semi-final at the CIS championship in Regina.

The fifth-seeded Dinos will play in the bronze medal game for the second straight year when they take on the loser of the late semi-final between the host Regina Cougars and the Atlantic champion Saint Mary's Huskies. Tip-off for the bronze medal game will be 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon, live on www.cis-sic.tv.

Calgary fell to the Lancers in the national semi-final for the second straight season as the defending champs used their size advantage to put up 31 big points in the second quarter, scoring 25 points off Calgary turnovers in the contest.

“We talked in the locker room about unforced errors, and certainly against championship teams they tend to capitalize on those,” said Dinos head coach Damian Jennings following the contest. “I'm proud of the way we were able to compete certainly for most of the game, and with a new coach and new stuff and only six months together that's not too bad.”

It was a tightly-played opening quarter, with Windsor emerging holding just a two-point lead at 18-16. The teams combined for 54 points in a high-octane second, with the Lancers scoring 31 of those to take a 10-point lead into the half.

The Dinos lost the services of guard Kristie Sheils, the team's player of the game in their quarterfinal win over Carleton on Friday, with a knee injury midway through the third quarter. It was a 10-point game at the time, and the Lancers went on to end the quarter on an 11-4 run to salt the game away. The Windsor lead stretched to as many as 24 points early in the fourth quarter before the Dinos were able to bring it down to a final 17-point margin.

Calgary had no answer for former CIS player of the year Jessica Clemonçon, who picked up 21 big points and eight rebounds for the Lancers. She also picked up four assists and five blocks, leading the Lancers to a total of 11 rejections of Calgary shots. Korissa Williams added 19 points for the Lancers, while the outside shooting of Bojana Kovacevic and Laura Mullins put the Dinos in an early hole from which they were unable to recover. Mullins went on to score 16 points, while Kovacevic added nine for the Lancers, who move on to their fourth consecutive national championship game.

Fifth-year senior forward Jessica Franz put up 17 points for the Dinos, with 13 of those coming in the opening half, hauling down eight rebounds as well. She was joined in double-digit scoring by Tamara Jarrett, who had 12, while Alex Cole managed nine points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.

Calgary shot 43.5 per cent from the field, compared with 46.5 by Windsor. The Lancers managed 18 points on the fast break in the contest, thanks in large part to six steals each by Kovacevic and Williams.

The Dinos will look to earn a CIS championship medal for the first time since 2001 Sunday afternoon, one year after falling 79-73 in the bronze medal game against Ottawa last season at the CIS championship – a feat that would be impressive considering the wholesale change the program has undergone since Jennings took over in August.

“Some of the other teams that have been together for four or five years with the same coach,” said Jennings. “It has been a challenge for us, being together for six months, and we made it to the final eight, and then the final four, and I'm particularly proud of that. Of course, we're now in a situation to put a bronze medal around our necks.”

2013 CIS Women's Basketball Final 8
SCHEDULE (All times MT)

All games webcast live at www.cis-sic.tv

Friday, March 15
1:00 p.m. Quarterfinal 1: #1 Windsor 56 #8 Ottawa 46
3:00 p.m. Quarterfinal 2: #5 Calgary 59 #4 Carleton 51
6:30 p.m. Quarterfinal 3: #3 Regina 68 #6 McGill 53
8:30 p.m. Quarterfinal 4: #2 Saint Mary's 62 #7 Fraser Valley 57

Saturday, March 16
1:00 p.m. Consolation Semi-final 1: #8 Ottawa 52 #4 Carleton 51
3:00 p.m. Consolation Semi-final 2: #6 McGill 60 #7 Fraser Valley 52
5:00 p.m. Semi-final 1: #1 Windsor 82 #5 Calgary 65
7:00 p.m. Semi-final 2: #2 Saint Mary's vs. #3 Regina

Sunday, March 17
11:00 a.m. Consolation Final (5th Place): #6 McGill vs. #8 Ottawa
1:00 p.m. Bronze Medal Game: #5 Calgary vs. Loser of Regina/Saint Mary's
4:00 p.m. Final: #1 Windsor vs. Winner of Regina/Saint Mary's (broadcast live on The Score)

-UC-