Olivia Krol; Dinos Communications
CALGARY – The University of Calgary women's basketball team set the tone early and never looked back in the first Canada West quarter-final matchup, cruising to a 105-49 win over the University of Victoria Vikes on Friday night at Jack Simpson Gymnasium.
The Dinos lead the best-of-three Canada West quarter-final 1-0 and will look to advance to the conference semifinal round with another win Saturday.
Brianna Ghali and Erin McIntosh filled out the scoresheet with a game high of 24 points each, collecting eight and seven rebounds, respectively. Shannon Hatch finished with 14 points, adding eight rebounds and three assists, while Bobbi-Jo Colburn followed closely behind with 12 points, registering five rebounds and three steals.
Ashlyn Day led the Vikes with 16 points to go with four rebounds and three steals, while Haily Weaver, Katie Langdon and Amira Giannattasio all managed six points apiece. The loss snapped a 13-game win streak for the Vikes and represented their season low offensively after finishing the regular season as Canada West's third-highest scoring team.
"We actually match up pretty well as teams, so we knew it would be an interesting competition," said McIntosh. "The Vikes are obviously very talented offensively, and our defensive record is pretty solid, so we knew we had to stick to our guns and get it done on defense first. Our defense feeds our offense, so it was a good play to start with.
"We messed up on the scout a couple of times, and there are definitely areas we can clean up, but overall we did what we wanted to do."
Calgary jumped out to an early 9-4 lead in the first quarter following buckets from Hatch, Ghali and Liene Stalidzane, and never looked back. McMillan gave the Vikes two straight, and both Weaver and Langdon added points of their own, but the Dinos built their advantage to 18-8 with 2:08 left, and took a 25-10 lead into the break.
The Dinos' defense really picked up their intensity in the second quarter, as they were able to hold the Vikes to just 10 points in the frame. Though neither side was able to score for the first few minutes of the quarter, Crawford's tip-in allowed Calgary to start locking down their opponents. Ghali and Stalidzane were able to finish off layup opportunities, while Colburn and McIntosh drilled out some three-pointers, making the score 51-20 at halftime.
Calgary amped-up its strong offensive game in the third quarter, as the Dinos opened play on a 6-2 run right before Weaver added a jumper for the Vikes. Day and Roskelley each finished off layups for Victoria with only 3:00 on the clock, making the score 76-33, but Nieuwenhuizen quickly retaliated with one of her own for Calgary. The Dinos further pushed their advantage to the double digits with a free throw off Ghali, and the team took a 45-point lead (82-37) into the final frame.
After the Vikes opened the fourth with a jumper, Nieuwenhuizen and Ghali threw in a free throw each to give Calgary the 85-39 lead. Colburn was able to give Calgary its 100th point off another free throw, crossing the century mark for the second time in three games. The Dinos held on down the stretch, and ultimately earned a 105-49 victory.
"It was different playing with such a huge advantage," commented McIntosh. "You don't want to step off the gas at any point; both teams sometimes slow it down. I feel tonight both teams pushed hard to the end, and it was a case of doing what you have to."
Game 2 of the series goes Saturday, with tip-off at 5 p.m. MT live on CanadaWest.tv.
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Photo by David Moll