By Paul Cartledge
EDMONTON – After struggling with five straight losses going back to November 24th, including their biggest defeat of the season this past Thursday, the University of Alberta Pandas dug deep to halt the losing streak, as well as a five-game skid at home, to claim a tight 70-68 victory over the University of Calgary Dinos, Saturday night at Saville Community Sports Centre.
Guards Megan Tywoniuk (third-year) and Emma Kary (second-year) netted 12 points apiece while rookie guard Jenna Harpe added 11. Tywoniuk led the team with seven rebounds.
Third-year forward/guard Erin McIntosh scored a game-high 17 points and eight boards, Arzo, Switzerland native Shannon Hatch adding 16 points and seven rebounds. Fourth-year point guard Anmol Mattu also broke the double-digit barrier with 13 for the visitors.
The home team got started on the right foot with a 6-2 run in the opening frame, but the provincial rivals to the south responded with an 11-2 run, McIntosh and Hatch combining for eight points in the streak before two late free throws by Harpe put the Dinos only up by three to end the first quarter.
The two Alberta teams battled hard in the second, tying up the scoreboard five times while exchanging leads four times. Harpe and Mattu led their respective teams with eight points each, Harpe draining two treys and adding two baskets from the charity stripe while Mattu netted four buckets from inside the arc. Both squads scored 20 points in the quarter, but Calgary managed to bring a 33-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Surprisingly, team rebound leader Elle Hendershot was quiet in the first half, but that changed very quickly at the start of the third quarter, the Lubbock, Tex. native earning three boards alongside seven points to help her team reclaim the lead.
The Dinos managed to tie the game a couple more times, but Panda success from long distance kept them up for good, including the final moments when Calgary persisted in extending the game.
Down by two with 15.3 seconds left, Mattu cleverly inbounded the ball off the back of senior forward Briana Carlyon and although Mattu missed her layup off the glass, she grabbed the rebound and passed it off to sophomore forward/guard Bobbi-Jo Colburn, fouled by third-year guard Vanessa Wild with 1.1 seconds left.
At the line, Colburn hit the front rim on her first attempt, virtually forcing her to miss her second shot and hope for a rebound, but the second shot popped up and fell out of bounds at the buzzer.
The 6-6 Pandas remain home next weekend to host the Regina Cougars while 8-4 Calgary heads out west to square off against the Trinity Western Spartans.