VANCOUVER – As two of the nation's best defences went to battle Friday night, the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds squeaked out a 64-53 win at home against the No. 7 University of Calgary Dinos. The T-Birds' (7-0) perfect record was in jeopardy at halftime, scoring just 18 points at the break — their lowest since the first game of the season, when they had 30 — until a late fourth-quarter surge secured them the victory.

Myriam Kone led the Dinos (4-3) with 17 points to go with five assists, four rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Pollyanna Storie also scored in double digits with 14 points.

NCAA transfer Jessica Clarke led all players with 22 points and 11 rebounds to go with a pair of blocks, while Olivia Weeks chipped in with 12 points for UBC (7-0)

Both squads set a physical tone early, with points hard to come by. Louise Rouse had the early hot hand, hitting three of her first five shots for six first-quarter points. Jessica Clarke was a perfect 4-4 early for the T-Birds as the home squad had an early 13-11 lead after one.

Myriam Kone got things going in a low-scoring second quarter as the Dinos outscored UBC 12-6 in the frame for a 23-21 lead at the break.

The Thunderbirds were able to go on a late run in the third with Sara Toneguzzi's and-one play giving her team a 35-31 lead with 1:16 left in the quarter, only to see the Dinos answer back capped by a three from Pollyanna Storie in the closing seconds to give Calgary a 37-35 lead after three.

It was a game of runs in the fourth. Tied at 39, Mya Proctor drilled a pair of triples to sandwich a layup by Christine Geraldo as the Dinos went ahead 47-39 with 7:35 to play. UBC immediately answered back, led by the spirited play of Mona Berlitz to spearhead a 18-0 run that spanned over six minutes as the T-Birds held a 54-47 edge with under one minute left. Storie drilled a deep triple to stop the bleeding with 1:35 left but it was too little, too late as UBC closed things out for the win.

UBC finished the night going 21-35 from the free-throw line, including an 11-17 effort in the final quarter. The Dinos were also cold from the charity stripe in this one, going 7-15 for an uncharacteristic 46.7 percent.

The two heavyweights are right back at it Saturday at 5 p.m. MT.

-UC-