WINNIPEG – Jennifer Kallon's layup with two seconds left gave the Winnipeg Wesmen a 57-55 win over the Manitoba Bisons on Thursday night to open up the Duckworth Challenge at IGAC.
 
Winnipeg led for significant portions of the game, but the hosts went up by three early in the fourth off five straight points from Darya Rom. Winnipeg responded, tying the game three times in the final ten minutes.
 
Manitoba had a side out, and a chance re-take the lead with ten seconds to go, but the Wesmen had other plans, surging ahead after a Sarah Boitson block that led to Kallon's layup in transition for the victory.
 
With the win, Winnipeg took a 1-0 lead in the Duckworth Challenge. They improved to 4-13 while Manitoba fell to 5-12. Both teams continue their portion of the challenge on Saturday at 1 pm at Winnipeg.
 
Taylor Schepp led Manitoba with 21 points while Jazmin Birch led the Wesmen with 19 points. Kallon poured in all seven of her points in the second half.
 
"I was excited, because we had prepped for a scenario like this. We were unable to execute on that side out, and we just didn't really get back on defence," said Bisons head coach Michele Sung.
 
"They beat us, and they won the game."
 
Jazmin Birch and Taylor Schepp were all over the score sheet in the opening ten, combining for 19 of the 26 points in quarter one.
 
Schepp was three-for-four from the field, helping the Herd to an early two-point lead, but Birch took over from there. Her steal and layup, followed by a bucket off glass with contact gave the visitors a 6-4 lead and they didn't trail for the remainder of the quarter.
 
Birch was a perfect five-for-five from the field, including a three-pointer off glass at the buzzer to give Winnipeg a 17-9 lead.
 
The two sides combined for eight steals at the break, including an assertive half court press at times.
 
Manitoba recorded 12 points off turnovers, including a transition layup from Rom off a lead pass from Halley Cruz. Samanatha Onyebuchi also recorded back-to-back triples as the hosts cut Winnipeg's lead to three midway through the second.
 
Winnipeg responded with a collective effort on the glass, while getting to the line 20 total times in the game compared to eight for Manitoba. They led the rebounding battle 29-23 at the break, with five different players recording at least three boards.
 
The back-and-forth battle continued in the third. Manitoba tied the game at 39 on back-to-back threes in the final minute from Mar Tomas Arbos and Rom, but Kallon had the answer with a buzzer-beater for two, becoming the eighth different Winnipeg player to score.
 
Rom went on a 5-0 run to open the fourth quarter, giving the hosts their first lead since the opening two minutes. The Winnipeg native hit her second triple in the span of a minute to open the final ten, and she added another bucket right after.  
  
Manitoba went up 44-41, and held momentum for vast chunks of the fourth, but Guinto hit a clutch three to tie the contest at 55.
 
The Wesmen completed the comeback in the final ten seconds. A Boitson block following a Manitoba side out led to a Jennifer Kallon layup, as she laid in the transition take off the glass with two seconds left.