SYDNEY, N.S.  – A one-possession game for nearly the entirety of the fourth quarter, the Acadia Axewomen were able to do just enough in the game's waning moments to pull out a 78-76 win over the Calgary Dinos women's basketball team Sunday morning in the U SPORTS national consolation final from Sullivan Field House on the campus of Cape Breton University.

The Dinos finish the 2022-23 season with a 23-13 overall record, finishing as the Canada West silver medallists and taking sixth at nationals despite both losses at the U SPORTS Championship coming by a combined four points.

"Clearly there was an opportunity for us to win there, but we just weren't clinical where we've been clinical during the year, ironically," Calgary head coach Damian Jennings said. "We knew this was going to be a fast-paced game. These are the two fastest teams arguably in the country, certainly in this tournament. Neither team is frightened to shoot threes, neither is frightened to counterattack. We always knew it was going to be a close game, in that manner - it looked early on we might be able to push out, but we just weren't as clinical as we could have been in that stage."

Calgary started the game with a stifling defence, forcing numerous Acadia turnovers in the early going to build a 19-11 lead after one. 

The Axewomen were able to get into more of a rhythm in the second and go on a 14-2 run that flipped a 26-19 Dinos lead into a 33-28 edge for Acadia. Annacy Palmer hit a big three-pointer for Calgary to cut the deficit to just 37-34 at the half.

After the break, the two teams continued to trade blows. Acadia led 56-50 at the 3:17 mark of the third, only to see MacKenzie Trpcic and Madison Landry both hit threes sandwiched around a bucket by Louise Rouse to tie the game up at 58-all.

Acadia went back ahead by five at 67-62 with 7:09 to play in the fourth, but the Dinos once again answered right back. Mya Proctor started with a three-pointer followed by a layup from Trpcic. Proctor then was fouled on an attempt from deep and sank all three of her free throws to give Calgary a one-point lead. The two teams continued to go back and forth. Bobbi-Jo Colburn hit a pair from the charity stripe with 1:41 left to give the Scarlet & Gold a 76-75 lead, but Elizabeth Iseyemi was able to get to the line and convert both of her foul shots in what proved to be the difference as the Axewomen went ahead for good.

Iseyemi finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead the way for Acadia. Teammate Haley McDonald also had a strong performance, tallying 16, six and six in the win.

Calgary's three seniors led them in their final game in a Dinos uniform. Colburn finished with a team-high 16 points. Landry was named the Calgary player of the game and had 15 points - finishing the night a perfect 4-4 from the floor and 6-6 from the charity stripe, while Trpcic filled the stat sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a career-high five steals.

This marks the third time in five seasons the Dinos season has finished at the U SPORTS National Championship, settling for a sixth-place finish this year.

"Like any season, it had its own internal challenges in the form of injuries, health, maturation, and where are you at as a group," Jennings said. "We've weathered some interesting storms and I think that's what a season should be like. The sign of a program is how do you go through that and come out the other end, and I think we should be proud of some of the external accolades achieved by this group. Sadly, it's not quite gold, silver or bronze today, but we're part of the last eight that are standing here and to play three games at nationals is difficult."

-UC-