WINNIPEG – The Bisons women's basketball team has opened the CanWest season 2-0 for the first time since 2019-20, completing a weekend sweep of the Brandon Bobcats with a 77-66 win on Friday night at IGAC. 
 
Lauren Bartlett led all Bisons with 20 points, along with six rebounds and four assists. Emily Johnson added 19 along with eight rebounds, a career-high five assists and three steals, one night after setting a career high with 20 points. 
 
Emerson Martin added 11 points, and Autumn Agar had a game-high ten boards. 
 
Brandon was paced by 23 points from Reeta Tulkki and 21 from Faith Clearsky. The pair did most of their damage from distance, combining to shoot five-of-nine from distance.
 
The game saw nine different lead changes in a back-and-forth thriller. 
 
Brandon entered the half up 38-35, going four-of-nine from distance in the second. Tulkki led the way with two triples. 
 
Clearsky and Barlett traded buckets back and forth in the third, with the Herd opening up a lead of as much as five at 54-49 off of four points from Bartlett and a few key rebounds from Agar and Johnson.
 
Two Tulkki free throws made it 54-53 Bisons entering the fourth. Bartlett and Johnson combined for seven points early, but BU once again clawed back, lowering the deficit to 62-59 on an Eden Tabin layup.
 
Manitoba pulled away in the final four minutes, outscoring Brandon 15-7. Bartlett made multiple jump shots, while Johnson and company provided multiple second chance opportunities on the boards. 
 
The Herd will travel to play Calgary next weekend, while Brandon hosts Thompson Rivers.