QUEBEC CITY – A 15-0 run in the third quarter proved to be the difference as UNB just edged out the University of Calgary Dinos women's basketball team Saturday afternoon in a U SPORTS Final 8 semifinal contests inside the Desjardins Amphitheatre. 

Calgary battled and got the game to within one possession late but just ran out of time in a 70-66 loss to snap their nine-game win streak that saw them claim the conference title and finish one win away from battling for a national championship.

"That's a super tough team (in UNB)," Dinos head coach Sarah Besselink said. "They stuck to their game plan. Their post player (Katie Butts) got a foul in the first quarter so then they played the whole first quarter without her and the gameplan was to get the ball inside. Not having defended that in the first, I think we took some time to adjust to her physicality and the way that she seals on stuff. We just didn't adjust in time; they put the ball inside and that was the difference."

Four Dinos finished the night tied for the team lead with 14 points each, as Christine Geraldo, Amélie Collin, Lilia Skumatova and Kourtney Oss all had strong showings offensively. Oss added nine rebounds, five steals and a block, while Geraldo and Collin both also collected three steals in another defensive showing.

Butts scored a game-high 20 points to go with six rebounds for the Reds one game after going off for 31 and 15. Kylee Speedy was named the player of the game for UNB, finishing with 16 points on 4-6 shooting from three to go with a trio of steals and assists.

Both teams started things out slow, with turnovers dominating the first quarter. A steal by U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year Amélie Collin led to an outlet to a streaking Oss and an easy early bucket for the Dinos. Calgary led 15-13 after one.

In the second, the Reds got their offence going thanks in part to an early hot hand from Butts. The big post player scored the first four points of the frame and created open shots for teammates as the Dinos were forced to send extra defenders her way. UNB built a 33-25 lead but late triples from Oss and Skumatova cut the deficit to just 35-31 at the half.

It was Collin who got things going early in the third for Calgary, connecting on a jumper before back-to-back triples and a beauty of a feed to Oss for the easy lay in, giving the Dinos a 43-42 lead with 5:12 to play in the third. The rest of the frame belonged to the Reds, however, as they rattled off 15 in a row thanks to a pair of three pointers from Speedy, building a 59-45 lead heading into the fourth.

In a physical fourth quarter, UNB thought they delivered the knockout blow early, but the Dinos continued to show their fight and battled back. A triple from Skumatova made it a 67-61 game with 1:09 to play and the Dinos made it a three-point game after yet another three by Skumatova, but time ran out on Calgary's comeback attempt.

Calgary's defence once again caused chaos for the opposition, with the Dinos forcing 23 UNB turnovers while collecting 15 steals. The Reds' advantage down low wasn't limited to just scoring, as UNB finished with a 36-26 edge in rebounds in this one.

Despite the loss Saturday, the Dinos will continue on and will go up against host Laval at 11 a.m. MT in the bronze medal game.

"Fight has been our motto since we've been on this run here," Besselink said of her team's near comeback effort. "Overall, we did a pretty good job defensively – just couldn't capitalize on our turnovers. But I'm super proud of them for that fight and we'll continue tomorrow. 

"We're still playing for a medal. I've done both as a player and a coach and ending your season on a win is pretty special."

-UC-