CALGARY - The University of Manitoba Bisons faced off for the first time of the decade against the Mount Royal University Cougars on Kenyon Court. After securing an early lead, the Bisons took the night. 

The scores for the quarters were: 20-13, 22-19, 21-26, and 24-19. Final score was 87-77 for Manitoba.

Taylor Randall led the Bisons with 29 points, closely followed by Lauren Bartlett with 16. Abbey Gillette set the pace for Mount Royal with 18 points with Charity Marlatt at 14 points. 

The first quarter was quickly swept away by the Bisons as fourth year forward Addison Martin opened the game with a layup. They ran away with the score as Mount Royal made several attempts to land a basket. In a turn of fortunes, fourth year guard Marnie Garner brought the Cougars close to narrowing the score gap with a swift layup. However, after trading three-pointers, Manitoba ended the quarter in the lead with a layup in the final thirty seconds. 

The Cougars stole the advantage in the beginning of the second quarter with Jordan Blaskin landing a jumper within 40 seconds. Within a blink of an eye, Manitoba landed some quick baskets to steal back their wide lead. Cougars' Marlatt and Garner ended the quarter by scoring two good layups to bring the score a bit closer. 

Manitoba's Keziah Brothers took the first jumper of the third, opening on a strong note. Mount Royal's Maddison Hooper broke the Bison streak after a couple minutes with a jumper of her own, leading to a series of points for the Cougars. They ran with the streak to close the gap to just two points in the final seconds. 

The Bisons once again took the advantage to open the quarter, landing six points early on thanks to a series of quick plays. Mount Royal's Jenika Martens and Garner landed a layup each to break their opponents luck. Their defences held strong, preventing several opportunities for the Bisons. However, they were soon able to break through and secure their victory with a series of free-throws. 

The two teams will face off once more this weekend on Saturday, January 11th, on Kenyon Court. It will be broadcasted live on CanadaWest.tv, presented by Co-op.