Abbotsford, BC – It was a hot start for the Manitoba Bisons on Friday at the UFV Athletic Centre, but the University Calgary Dinos women's basketball team fought back to outlast their opponents and claim an 89-64 win. 

With the victory, the Dinos advance to Saturday's Canada West Quarter-Final, where they will meet the Fraser Valley Cascades at 4 p.m. MT in Abbotsford. Meanwhile, the loss ends the Bison's season in the conference play-in round. 

After a blistering start, the Dinos' strong performance in the second half proved to be the difference.

"The message was clear, they gave us the best punch early on, and it was about who can outlast the whole game," noted Dinos interim head coach Jhony Verrone. 

"It's a 40-minute game, and we showed that in the second half. It was just one possession at a time."

Manitoba started the game off on fire, scoring the game's first 13 points and holding the Dinos scoreless for almost four minutes. After a timeout, the Dinos roared to life, cutting the deficit to just four before the end of the quarter, before a Lilia Skumatova jumper tied the game early in the second. 

The teams traded buckets from there, with no one getting a clear edge until Pollyanna Storie came up with a steal that led to a Myriam Kone bucket with under 30 seconds to go in the frame. A Manitoba turnover and a foul in the dying moments allowed Amélie Collin to hit a pair of free throws and put Calgary up five at the break.

The Dinos took that momentum and ran with it, as they opened the second half with a 20-7 run to make it 57-39. Manitoba stemmed the tide with a Darya Rom and one, but still found themselves trailing by 14 going into the fourth. 

A Sydnee Harris triple was followed up by a pair of Emily Mandamin free throws to help the Bisons pull within nine, but that was as close as they would come with Kone and Sammy Shields each chipping in six points in the frame to close out the game. 

Kone had a game high 24 points, and 10 rebounds for the Dinos on the night, while Skumatova added 17 points, and Kourtney Oss contributed 14 points and 10 boards. 

Anna Miko led the way for the Bisons, scoring 15 points while Rom added 12, and Paige Schatkowsky had 11. 

"Obviously it's a quick turnaround for tomorrow, so we have a plan in place," Verrone noted on the Dinos attention turning to UFV on Saturday. 

"It's going to be on [the players] to do their due diligence to make sure their body feels right. We'll have a quick film session in the morning and the just go and get running out of it. It's just more work really, but in the end it has to be done."