VANCOUVER – A strong shooting performance in the first half gave the No. 1-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies a 20-point halftime lead helping them to a 69-49 win over the UBC Thunderbirds Friday night in Saskatoon.
 
UBC's Kara Spotton (Fort Collins, Colo.) led all scorers with 16 points on the night. Diana Lee (North Vancouver) chipped in for the T-Birds with another 14. Adrienne Parkin (Vancouver) led the squad with five rebounds.
 
UBC drops to 2-3 in league play with the loss, while Saskatchewan is now 5-0.
 
The Huskies held a 46-26 lead at halftime after shooting a blistering 64.5 per cent from the field in the first half. UBC shot 28.6 per cent in the opening 20 minutes.
  
Saskatchewan jumped out to an early 27-13 lead after the opening quarter.
 
UBC's Lee hit a three-point basket midway through the first brought her team to within six points at 14-8 but the home side was able to build their advantage to 14 by the end of the first 10 minutes.
 
After halftime, the Thunderbirds used an early third-quarter 8-0 run to cut their deficit to 14 points. With the Huskies ahead 48-26, Spotton started the run with a jumper about two minutes into the quarter and then hit two foul shots after UBC got a defensive stop on the other end of the floor.
 
The Thunderbirds got another stop on a steal by guard Cherub Lum (Vancouver), who then made the ensuing jump shot. Forward Andrea Strujic capped off the surge with a bucket that closed the gap to 48-34, still in favour of the home team, with 6:24 left in the third. After trading baskets for several possessions, the Huskies closed the third quarter on an 11-2 run.
 
The UBC defence was strong in the fourth, surrendering just two field goals, both three pointers, as the Thunderbirds outscored the Huskies 9-6 in the closing 10 minutes.
 
Dalyce Emmerson recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds on an efficient four-of-five shooting performance for Saskatchewan. Laura Dally and Desarae Hogberg each scored 12 points. 

The two teams meet again Saturday night at 4:15 p.m. PT.