Eoin Colquhoun, Pronghorn Athletics
LETHBRIDGE – With an unrelenting defensive effort, the Calgary Dinos took the front half of a home-and-home series with the Lethbridge Pronghorns with a convincing 77-45 victory
The loss is the Pronghorns fifth in a row and they fall to 10-7 on the season. For the Dinos, they are trending in the opposite direction, extending their winning streak to four and improving to 12-5.
Throughout the game, Calgary forced the action at both ends of the court and kept the Pronghorns offence off balance with persistent pressure leading to a tough night statistically for the home side. On the night the Pronghorns shot a frigid 22.4% and only hit 3-of-26 from behind the arc.
While it took the Dinos one half to figure out the Pronghorns defensive scheme and to get going offensively, 50 second half points blew open a tight game. On the night, the Dinos finished 38% from the field and out rebounded the Pronghorns 56-39, including 16 offensive rebounds.
Brianna Ghali led the way for the Dinos with a double-double collecting a game high 20 points and 14 rebounds. Shannon Hatch chipped in with 15 points and Bobbi-Jo Colburn came off the bench and contributed with 12 points.
Katie Keith was the lone Pronghorn to reach double digits and led the team with 12 points and eight rebounds. Kacie Bosch and Zoe Dahl were the next highest scorers on the night for the Pronghorns with eight and seven points respectively.
Calgary opened with the early advantage, taking a 12-3 lead and despite being able to breakdown the Dino press in the opening quarter, the Pronghorns struggled shooting the ball. Nonetheless, a late surge by the Pronghorns brought themselves within five, 15-10 at the break but shot the ball only 21.1% in the quarter. Conversely, the Dinos hit on just over 37% of their attempts in the quarter but turned the ball over eight times.
The pace slowed early in the second as neither team could find any offensive rhythm, missing open shots at both ends. Calgary did build on their lead in the back half of the quarter, outscoring the Pronghorns 12 to 7 in a defensive second quarter and carrying a 27-17 lead into halftime.
In the half, the Pronghorns really struggled shooting the ball, hitting on only 7-of-35 for 20% and 1-of-12 from behind the arc. After a sharp dip in their shooting efficiency in the second quarter, the Dinos hit on only 28.9% in the half and were just 2-of-18 from long range.
Each team turned the ball over 11 times, while Calgary won the battle on the glass 23-18 in the opening 20 minutes.
To open the second half, the Dinos began to heat up, while the Pronghorns continued their tough night offensively. Building on a 10 point half time lead, the Dinos poured in 23 third quarter points and doubled their lead to 20 points heading into the fourth quarter (50-30).
Calgary continued with their foot on the gas pedal in the fourth, continuing to put distance between themselves and the Pronghorns and cruised to their 12th win of the season.
The back half of the home-and-home series will go Saturday night in Calgary at Jack Simpson Gymnasium, tip is slated for 5:00pm. Catch all the action on www.canadawest.tv.