Fresh off their 54-48 win over Winnipeg (5-7) on Thursday at the Duckworth Centre, the Bisons (5-7) were looking to make it two in a row over their cross-town rivals on Saturday night at the Investors Group Athletic Centre to start 2008.

The Wesmen had other plans however, as they lead the game from start to finish, taking the 71-52 win in an intense defensive battle, spoiling the Bisons party.

The Herd started the opening quarter of their 2008 home schedule stretching Winnipeg’s defence around the perimeter. In the early going, both teams struggled around the basket, showing signs of rust from the holiday season. However, the Bisons stuck to their perimeter game, which kept Winnipeg chasing the ball for much of the frame.

The Wesmen were having more luck around the basket in the first, taking a 16-10 lead into the second. Offensive struggles continued for both teams as the game became a battle on the defensive side of the ball. The intensity in the game began to mount late in the first half, despite production on offence, when bad fouls were given to both teams. Going into the break, the Wesmen increased their lead on the Bisons by 15, going up 31-16.

Dawna Wright led all players in the first half with eight points for the Wesmen, while Leigh-Anne Legal-Young, and Michele Hynes both had five for the Herd.

The intensity that started in the second quarter finally started to translate into points for the Bisons as they doubled their total from the first half early on. Winnipeg was able to keep the Bisons at arms-length however, throughout the quarter, maintaining a 12-point lead going into the final frame.

Manitoba started to make things interesting midway through the fourth quarter going on 6-2 run, but it wasn’t enough as the Wesmen eventually extended their lead to 19 points, winning the game 71-52.

Dawna Wright continued to lead all players in the second half, finishing the game with 18 points. Michele Hynes was again the bright spot for the Bisons in the second half, racking up 13 points and forcing four turnovers in the game.

Next week, the Bisons will continue their home stand on January 11 and 12 against the University of Saskatchewan and the central division leaders in the Canada West conference, the University of Alberta respectively. Both games start at 6:15 pm.

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