EDMONTON - The MacEwan Griffins hit 12 threes and led all four quarters en route to a 85-74 victory, over the Alberta Pandas Friday night at the Saville Centre.

Red Deer native Hayley Lalor had a team high 21 points for MacEwan, one of three Griffins to score 15 points or over. She added six rebounds and three steals in what was a phenomenal performance.

Third-year Panda Emma Kary continued her great campaign, scoring a game-high 22 points to go with three steals. 

For Alberta (9-2), the loss is their second in three games, however they remain in the lead in the Central division. MacEwans (3-10) win stops a three game losing skid.

MacEwan wins against the Pandas in CW play for the first time in their history, Alberta winning the first 13 meetings beforehand. 

The game was punctuated by lights-out shooting from the Griffins, ending the game shooting 48.3% from the field, and a nuclear 52.2% from beyond the arc. An uncharacteristic perimeter defensive effort from the Pandas, who entered the game ranked 1st in opponent 3P%.

Alberta was less fortunate in this regard, shooting 37.9% from the field and generally struggling to string high-quality shots together against a stalwart MacEwan defence. 

An interesting contrast from the game comes with a comparison in fast-break points for both squads. Alberta recorded 17 points on the break, compared to just two from MacEwan; a testament to the outside focused approach which led to the win.

Four of MacEwans starters played upwards of 31 minutes in the game, playing just eight total players in the game. 

The squads went back-and-forth in the first quarter, punctuated by six lead changes. MacEwan shot the lights out in the first quarter, going 3/6 from beyond the arc that led them into the second up 18-17.

All five Griffins starters scored in the quarter, paced by Hannah Gibbs who hit two threes. Alberta was led by 5th-year Brianna Fehr, who had a quarter-high 7 points. 

The Griffins kept the heat through the break, opening the second quarter with three straight three-pointers going up 29-21 forcing an Alberta timeout. Head coach Scott Edwards must have channelled some Gregg Popovich in his huddle, because the Pandas would go on an 8-0 run to knot it up at 29.

The offence ran through Pandas captain Kary, scoring 11 of her half-high 15 points to go with three rebounds and two steals. 

MacEwan would recover however, finishing the half up 40-39. Noelle Kilbreath scored a Griffin-high five points in the quarter.

The Pandas were largely undone by their free-throw shooting, going 4/8 in the quarter. 

The teams continued to battle back-and-forth out of the break. The score was tied midway through the quarter when Hayley Lalor and the Griffins went on an 11-2 run to capture a nine-point lead.

MacEwan's Mikah Reed dominated the frame, knocking down three triples for a quarter-high nine points. 

Alberta's Fehr led the charge for the Pandas, scoring eight points in the paint as they entered the fourth quarter down 60-56.

The Pandas clawed their way back to a 64-60 lead early in the fourth, with rookie Morgan Harris hitting three of four shots from the stripe. 

The Griffins would respond in kind, going on a game-high 13-0 run to go up 73-64, led by an incendiary Gilbreath who scored nine of the points.

Like a seesaw, no one team could hold dominance for long as Alberta shortened the lead to just five points with two minutes remaining. A mix of veteran presence in Fehr and rookie dynamism in Harris paved the way back for the Pandas, with Harris drawing 11 attempts from the line and hitting six of them in the quarter. 

Enter Lalor stage left; a three followed immediately by a shot clock beating layup gave the Griffins a 10 point lead with a minute remaining, a lead they would not relinquish with the game ending 85 to 74.

The Pandas will look to avenge the loss with a second game against the Griffins tomorrow at 5 PM in the Saville Centre.