The Brandon Bobcats defeated the Manitoba Bisons women's basketball team 71-47 on Friday in a battle of two teams looking for their first win of the season at the 2014 Spirit Cup at Investors Group Athletic Centre.

The Bison were 16-61 from the field for a FG percentage of 26.2% on the night, and after shooting zero free throws in the first half, the Bobcats went 11-for-15 from the charity stripe in the second half.
 
Both teams combined for a total of 26 points in a fast-paced first quarter. Manitoba's defense was stingy in the post, recording a team total of two blocks and four steals to finish the first frame leading 16-10.
 
The Bobcats struggled to get any offense going in the second quarter, scoring just two points in the first five minutes of the quarter. Meanwhile, Manitoba dominated the time of possession, but struggled to score after a hot start to the second quarter. As the Bobcats started to heat up, Manitoba started to cool down and Brandon slowly chipped away at the lead before going into the half leading 25-24 after a last-second shot.
 
After the half, both teams kept pace with each other, but midway through the quarter, Brandon went on a 12-0 run by capitalizing on Bison turnovers to put the Bobcats up 47-33 in the final frame of the Spirit Cup.
 
Brandon showed no signs of slowing down in the fourth quarter, going on a 10-2 run in the first two and a half minutes to back the Bison into a corner. By the time Manitoba was able to put up some points, it was already too late to play catch-up.
 
Vanessa DeVries led the way for the Bison with 12 points and two steals, with Samantha Pyke and Robin Eyer each netting eight points.
 
The Bobcats had three players with double-digit points, led by Mikaela Stanton with 15 points, followed by Stephanie Haynes and Alyssa Montgomery each netting 12 points.
 
With the loss, the Manitoba Bison drop to 0-5 on the season, while the Brandon Bobcats get their first win of the season to improve to 1-4.
 
Both teams will face off again on Saturday, November 15 at 5:00 p.m. CT at Investors Group Athletic Centre to finish their weekend series.