WINNIPEG — Faced with the daunting task of beating the No. 1 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies in their home gym, the Manitoba Bisons women's basketball team came inches from pulling off what would've been the upset of the season in Canada West — losing on Saturday 71-59.

Manitoba out-scored Saskatchewan 22-19 in the third quarter and headed into the fourth trailing by just seven, before the Huskies wrestled the lead back into double digits.

The Bisons were led by impressively efficient performances from Taylor Randall (16 points, 6-for-14 from the field) and Emerson Martin (15 points, 6-for-13). Lauren Bartlett added ten after a 20-point game on Friday.

The Huskies got 21 points from Summer Masikewich and 17 from Katriana Philipenko, as Saskatchewan improves to 8-0 on the season. Manitoba is now 2-6.

Despite the two losses, the Bisons saw the Huskies have margins of victory of just 13 and 12 points this weekend. 

After the holiday break, Manitoba will take on the similarly undefeated Winnipeg Wesmen on Saturday, January 15 at IGAC.