WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Bisons led early, and had stretches of brilliance at times, but the undefeated Calgary Dinos surged back on the strength of their defence, beating the hosts 84-59 on Friday night at IGAC.
 
The Dinos had 13 steals, scoring 20 points on Manitoba turnovers, with more than half that total coming in the first half, as the visitors surged to a 22-point halftime lead. Manitoba pushed back in the third, but the visitors did the same in the fourth for the 25-point win.
 
Amelie Collin led the way for Calgary with 17 points and four steals. Manitoba got a career-high 17 points from rookie point guard Taylor Schepp.  
 
Manitoba got out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes, cashing in five points from Schepp, two inside drives to her left and a three. Defensively, the Bisons did a fantastic job in the half court, forcing tough Dinos shots and playing hard on the glass.
 
"We've tried to really emphasis defensive skills in practice, so it was nice to see that translate into the game," said Bisons head coach Michele Sung.
 
"I think we matched their physicality. They're one of the more physical teams in Canada West, so I was proud of them for that."
 
Turnovers played a factor as the first quarter progressed. Calgary scored six points off turnovers and had three steals, with leading scorer Collin pacing the visitors on both ends. She had two steals and nine points after the first, as Calgary opened up a 26-19 lead.
 
Both sides battled hard on the glass throughout the half, earning 50 total rebounds in a stat that was close to equal on both ends. Anna Miko and Paige Schatkowsky combined for nine boards for Manitoba, while Schepp and Ayva Khan combined to go four-for-eight from three.
 
Calgary responded on defence. They had 12 points off 12 Manitoba turnovers at the break, out-scoring the hosts 12-3 in the early stages, taking a 51-29 lead into halftime.
 
Collin led the way with 15 points, including three steals, while Mackenzie Henderson and Emma Yarwood combined to shoot six-for-six from the field, with 15 total points.
 
Manitoba surged out of the break, out-scoring Calgary  21-13 in quarter three, playing with pace while distributing the ball brilliantly.
 
Midway through the quarter, Khan had a fantastic dish to Samantha Onyebuchi, faking a mid-range jumper and finding her teammate under the bucket for two. It was the first of eight straight points for Onyebuchi, who also drove inside for an and one, while grabbing a rebound and put-back.
 
"[Onyebuchi] has eased into that flow and isn't forcing it. I like that she got buckets and got deflections on defence," added Sung.
 
"We've seen spurts of it. I thought she did a really good job of controlling her pace today."
 
Later, Schepp ended the quarter with a highlight-reel finish, laying the ball off the glass for two, plus the harm. Schepp's three-point play pushed her to a new career-high with 17 points, as the hosts cut Calgary's lead to 14 entering the fourth.
 
"[Schepp] was patient. We tried to really prepare her for a lot of pressure," noted Sung. "As teams start getting more film on her they're going to have a pretty detailed scout. She handled it fairly well."
 
Calgary responded in quarter four, out-scoring Manitoba 12-2 in the first five minutes to help close out the win. Kourtney Oss scored four points in a row during the run, with seven of her 12 total points coming in the final frame, adding an assist and multiple rebounds.
 
Both teams play again tomorrow at 4 pm.