WINNIPEG — The Manitoba Bisons (3-4) shot 46 percent as a team — including 12 three-pointers — en route to a 78-63 victory over the Fraser Valley Cascades (4-3) on Friday night at Investors Group Athletic Centre.
Forward Emma Thompson was lights out from the perimeter, cashing in six times from distance while finishing with a team-high 20 points. Rookie guard Lauren Bartlett added four treys of her own and finished with 12 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
"When Emma gets in that shooting role, it's fun to watch. You kind of just sit back and say do your thing girl," Bisons head coach Michele Sung said postgame.
Fraser Valley's leading scorer was fifth-year forward Taylor Claggett, with 25 points as well as 12 boards.
Manitoba erupted to a 12-5 lead in the opening four minutes of play, forcing UFV to take a timeout. Thompson had two blocked shots, while guard Taylor Randall was cash on both of her shots from the field.
The Cascades — one of the conference's stingiest defences — responded in that department after the reset, going on a 10-1 run in the next two minutes to take their first lead. Guard Nikki Cabuco was the catalyst with two steals and seven points as the two sides entered the second period tied at 20.
Just 21 combined points were scored in the second period as the defensive tilt continued.
The Bisons held the Cascades to eight points, with Claggett — who came into the contest averaging a conference second-best 19 points per game — posting just five through 20 minutes. The senior did have six rebounds, five assists and two steals for her side however as a key facilitator in other areas.
"[Claggett] is an All-Canadian calibre-player so for us it was definitely a focus of the game plan [to stop her]," added Sung.
"It was just about working for 40 minutes. You're not going to win the battle every possession, but it was just about making her work."
Offensively, Manitoba had nine different players score at least a point in the first half as they led 33-28. Guard Keziah Brothers and forward Addison Martin combined for 14 points, the former doing an excellent job facilitating, finding the latter on multiple occasions.
The hosts took full control in the third period, going on a 13-2 run through the opening four minutes of play. Perimeter play and continued persistence on D were the story.
Manitoba drained three shots from beyond the arc during the run and had six overall in the third.
Bartlett — who was on the court for all of two-and-a-half minutes — was excellent on both ends, including two treys, five assists and nine points overall. Thompson added two three-pointers as well and had a team-high 14 points entering the fourth.
Claggett stepped up for her side, recording 15 points, nine of which came from the free-throw line, however UFV was outscored by 21 from downtown and entered the fourth down 12.
Fraser Valley cut Manitoba's lead down to seven with two minutes to play, but couldn't get any closer as the Bisons finished the game off at the line.
The two teams will play again tomorrow night at IGAC.
