CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women's basketball team erupted from behind the arc in the fourth quarter, defeating the UBC-Okanagan Heat 80-64 Saturday evening from the Jack Simpson Gym.

With the win the Dinos (2-0) complete the opening weekend sweep against UBCO (0-2), after winning a tough matchup Friday night.

First-year Dinos forward Louise Rouse, who finished with 12 points, three rebounds and one block, spoke about her team's trust in their gameplan.

"We were taking the open shots. They were playing a zone and we had open looks and were taking them with confidence. We still have a long way to go, but it was a good game today."

The willingness to keep firing paid off tonight for the Dinos. As a team Calgary shot 5-7 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter and 61.5% from the field overall. Pollyanna Storie led all scorers with 17 points, connecting on 4-5 from three as she once again provided much needed offence off the bench.

However, just one night after an offence explosion by both teams, it was defence that was the story early this evening.

"Our defence today was a lot stronger than yesterday," Rouse said. "We were communicating a lot better. Yesterday we let them get to the line too many times. (Today) we had help ready and communicated."

The first half saw aggressive play from both teams. The Dinos employed a full court press, which gave the Heat fits for the entire 40 minutes of play. The Dinos forced 17 turnovers in the first half and limited the Heat to just 25 shot attempts. Dinos guard Mackenzie Trpcic, who was credited with two steals on the night, put pressure on the Heat guards and did not allow them to be comfortable in the half court.

On the other end of the court the Heat employed a 2-3 zone and were jumping in passing lanes, playing physical defence and rallying to rebounds. Heat guard Kelsey Falk, who compiled 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals, made an impact on both ends of the court tonight. The Dinos led 32-26 after 20 minutes of play.

The best opportunity for the Heat came in the third quarter. UBCO turned up their intensity in the opening minutes of the third, generating transition points off of Dinos turnovers. The heat used their fast-break offence to exploit gaps in the Dinos defence. Guards Jaeli Ibbetson (17 points) and Sofia Ainsa Lluch (Nine points) attacked from the top of the three point line and consistently got scoring opportunities in the paint. A three pointer with two minutes remaining in the third from Lluch cut the Dinos lead to just one at 48-47. Calgary would answer back with two timely triples of their own from Storie and Annacy Palmer to extend the lead to 55-47 after three quarters of play.

The Dinos were able to ride their late third quarter momentum to a win as they were firing on all cylinders in the final quarter. On the night, Calgary attempted nearly half their shots from three, going 12-27, with five coming in the final 10 minutes. Calgary's late surge propelled them to a 80-64 victory.

Both teams are in action next weekend. The Dinos will look to continue their early season success as they head to Edmonton to take on the 2-0 Pandas in the battle of Alberta. Both games will be played at Saville Community Sports Centre. The Heat will look to get in the win column at home as they welcome the 0-2 Brandon Bobcats for a pair of games at UBCO's gymnasium.

-UC-