With some help from the ancient Japanese art of the haiku, I will attempt to explain what happened to the Dinos women’s basketball team last weekend.
Dinos lost to Vic
Won’t be seen at nationals
One point difference
A 56-55 loss to the University of Victoria Vikes ended the Dinos’ season and prevented them from travelling to the national championships in Hamilton.
Came back from down ten
Tough calls in the last minutes
Heartbreak all around
Down 50-40 with about nine minutes remaining, the Dinos fought back, and held the lead briefly as time ticked down. They couldn’t hang on, and Vike Dani Everitt sealed the victory with 1:10 left.
Damn arch rival Vikes
Led by Lindsay Anderson
Always pose problems
“[The Dinos] are a pretty resilient team,” said Coach Shawnee Harle afterwards. “They’re a bunch of fighters.”
Victoria swept the U of C in a two-game regular-season series two weeks before, and once again made the Dinos play their game, a defensive battle in which the Dinos committed 26 turnovers and never got their offence going. Anderson and Everitt led the Vikes with 13 points each.
“Some of the things that haunted us all season long came back to bite us in the butt,” said Harle, referring specifically to the turnovers. “When we played good teams in close games, we struggled to score in the last three or four minutes.”
Loss to SFU
Was pretty much expected
Dinos don’t give up
The day before the battle with UVIC, the Dinos lost 87-56 the top-ranked Simon Fraser University Clan, but truthfully, the Dinos never had a chance in that game. It’s a testament to their spirit that they came back to play the next day.
Anna Bekkering
Scored 13 in her final
Game as a Dino
Jessica Foltinek and Tanya Hautala added 12 points apiece, while Foltinek had a game-high nine rebounds.
“I thought we were going to win the game,” Bekkering commented. “I was very disappointed when we lost. I felt kind of numb [as the buzzer went]. It didn’t sink in until afterwards. It would have been better to lose by ten or 20.”
Bekkering will graduate with silver and bronze medals from previous appearances at Canadian Interuniversity Sport Championships, and her influence on this year’s young Dinos team will be felt for years to come.
Next year’s Dinos team
Should kick some serious ass
In Canada West
No one expected much from the Dinos this year as the team was laden with first- and second-year players. Even some of the veterans–Angela Robson and Shari Jonker–were first-year Dinos, but recent college transfers.
“This team overachieved,” Harle admitted. “Our roster doesn’t really tell the whole story. The majority of minutes were played by first- and second-year kids. Nobody would have picked us to finish first in the Mountain Division. Nobody thought we were going to sweep sixth-ranked UBC [in the first round of the playoffs].”
Tanya Hautala
And Jessica Foltinek
Expected to lead
Hautala, the five-foot-three guard from Chilliwack, and Foltinek, the six-foot-two post from Calgary, are the players the Dinos will count on next season. Behind those two, the Dinos are ridiculously deep at post and nearly as deep at guard. This year’s playoff run will only add to their experience and desire.