CALGARY - After two straight losses to start the season, the Dinos did not trail once in their home opener against the Brandon Bobcats, taking a decisive 76-65 win on Nov. 7 at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium.

The Dinos improve to their record to 1-2 while the Brandon Bobcats fall to 0-3.

Brianna Ghali and Clarisse Jennings led the Dinos with 11 points, respectively. Jessica Theilen and Kelsey Lund both followed with ten points, with Lund also tied for a game high of seven rebounds.

Brandon forward Alyssa Montgomery had a game high of 15 points and Mikaela Stanton followed with 14.  Amy Williams picked up nine points and seven rebounds.

The Dinos came out flying in the first quarter, picking up a commanding 9-2 lead after the first two minutes. Their offense slowed through the middle of the quarter and the Bobcats kept it close as the two teams battled back and forth, each picking up points from outside the arc.

The Dinos offense picked up again late in the quarter with a big two-point drive from Shinelle Handziuk in the last minute and an impressive two-point buzzer-beater from Jennings, to give the Dinos a lead of 22-13 after the first quarter.

After another strong start to the second for Calgary, the Bobcats answered back this time with a 7-0 run, including the only three point play of the game from Stephanie Haynes, bringing them within six points of the lead.

The Dinos battled back, regaining their offensive spark with a 6-0 run late in the half led by a big three-pointer from Jennings. After scoring 13 points in the last five minutes, Calgary took a 42-30 lead into halftime.

Early in the second half, both teams struggled offensively with only five points scored in the first three minutes between the two teams. Midway through the third quarter, a sloppy turnover by the Dinos led the Bobcats to draw within six points at a score of 49-43.

Once again, Calgary answered back late in the quarter with a three-pointer from Kristie Shiels and four free throw points from Lund in the final minute. The quarter ended with a 59-46 lead for the Dinos.

Brandon kept pressing, as they cut the Dinos lead to 61-52 early in the fourth quarter, but that is as close as they would get thanks to a big seven points from Ghali in the middle of the quarter and sound defensive play from the whole squad.

Despite a number of time-outs and intentional fouls from the Bobcats late in the game, the Dinos held them off the scoreboard in the final minutes to pick up their first victory of the season, with a final score of 76-65.   

While the Dinos offense performed strongly, Calgary forward Brianna Ghali said, "It's all about the team. I think we really locked it down on defence and I think we were able to put a lot of pressure on them offensively because of our defence. That's really important."

The two teams will meet again tomorrow night as the Dinos look to sweep the series. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT.