REGINA – Powered by season-high scoring performances from both Pollyanna Storie and Lilia Skumatova, the Calgary Dinos bounced back from their first loss in nearly three months with an 81-64 win over Regina Saturday from the CKHS on the UofR campus.

The Dinos finish the regular season with a 16-4 record – good for the third seed in the Canada West Prairie Division. Regina closed out at 13-7 for fourth in the Prairie. 

Both will open the postseason on the road, with the Dinos playing Manitoba in Abbotsford, B.C., with the winner going up against UFV. Meanwhile, the Cougars will take on UBCO in Vancouver, with the winner taking on UBC.

Storie led all players with 22 points in this one on 9-18 shooting to go with five rebounds. Skumatova couldn't miss, going 4-5 from deep and 7-10 overall to finish with 18 points and four boards.

Myriam Kone added 16 points, seven assists and four rebounds, while Mya Proctor and Amélie Collin each chipped in with seven points in the win.

Cara Misskey had another strong performance for the Cougars and finished with a team-high 21 points on 7-11 shooting. Izzi Fust added 16 while Jade Belmore registered another double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

After an initial surge by the home squad, the Dinos settled in and found their rhythm, taking their first lead at 9-8 in what proved to be the lone lead change of the game. Buckets by Storie and Kourtney Oss quickly created separation for Calgary, as they built a 21-14 advantage after the first 10 minutes.

The Cougars chipped away in the second and seemed to have some momentum just before halftime, only to see Storie and Myriam Kone each drill a three-pointer – ironically just as they both did to finish the first – to push the Dinos' lead to 37-31 at the break.

Triples from both Collin and Skumatova early in the third gave Calgary a 14-point cushion midway through the third as they started to take complete control of this one. An and-one from Sammy Shields pushed the lead to 18 points in the fourth – the largest lead of the day – as the Dinos salted this one away on their way to the postseason.

Calgary shot 50 percent or better from the floor in three of the four quarters and finished with an overall 50.8 percentage (32-63) for the game, while also going an outstanding 12-22 (54.5%) from three-point range.

The Dinos also dominated down low in this one, finishing with a 34-20 edge in points in the paint, while also claiming a 33-13 advantage in points off the bench.

Up next comes postseason play, where Calgary will look to earn its third-consecutive trip to the U SPORTS Final 8. That journey will begin Friday in Abbotsford, B.C. against Manitoba with a 7 p.m. MT contest.

-UC-