Kellen Forrest; Dinos Communications

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos will be moving on to the next stage of their journey, as a dominant 92-55 Saturday night win over the UNBC Timberwolves gave them the 2-0 series win in the Canada West quarter-final.

Calgary was once again able to overwhelm the Timberwolves right out of the gate, using their intense full-court pressure to their full advantage. Even when they weren't creating turnovers, the Dinos were forcing rushed and contested shots, which lead to UNBC shooting just 12.5 per cent from the field in the first quarter. The Dinos would take full advantage of the poor shooting, and take a 22-10 lead after the first.

The second quarter brought more of the same, as the Dinos would push their lead to 45-23 at the half, thanks in large part to both their defense and three-point shooting. Calgary would shoot 50 per cent from deep in the quarter, while the Timberwolves struggled to find the range, starting the game zero-for-eight from three.

With the Dinos ahead comfortably, they refused to let their foot off of the gas in the second half. Calgary would connect on nine more threes in the half, hitting an incredible 17 total threes in the game. The Timberwolves had no answer for the Calgary's three-point barrage, as nine different players connected from deep for the Dinos. Stretching the lead to 41 at one point in the second half, the game was never in doubt for the Dinos, as they would finish the game 92-55 victors.

The relentless Calgary pressure wore down UNBC's starters, as the trio of Madison Landry, Maria Mongomo, and Vasiliki Louka all played over 30 minutes in back-to-back nights. On the other hand, not one Dino played more than 21 minutes Saturday night, showing off their incredible team depth.

"Any given night, we trust our twelve," said Dinos Head Coach Damian Jennings when asked about his team's ability to play a deep bench. "You look at yesterday's box score, and those who didn't score, well today, they did."

Kiki Knox was an incredible force for the Dinos tonight, with 12 points and nine rebounds, she was a constant thorn in the side of the Timberwolves. The Dinos also had another player go five-for-five from deep, as Reyna Crawford was perfect from long range on the night, following in Erin McIntosh's footsteps from the night before.

Madison Landry was one of the lone bright spots for the Timberwolves, as she scored a game-high 20 points. UNBC had two fifth-year players play their final game in a Timberwolf uniform, as Louka and Abby Gibb will move on from the program next year.

"Louka is such a classy person, as well as a very talented basketball player," explained Jennings. "I hope she feels the way that we try and play against her, is due to the respect we have for her."

The Dinos will host the Regina Cougars next weekend in a best-of-three Canada West semi-final series, with the winner earning a berth to the U SPORTS National Championship at Ryerson University in Toronto, as well as a chance at the Canada West title.

-UC-

Photo by David Moll