The Dinos women’s basketball team’s games against the University of Saskatchewan Huskie ladies Nov. 4-5 played out like a 17-year-old’s first night at the bar–it seemed fun at first, but the results were nauseating.
“I’m not happy,” said Head Coach Shawnee Harle, “but we played better than the previous weekend. I’ll be happier if we continue to move in the right direction.”
Friday night, the young Dinos finally came out playing like a varsity team rather than a high-school gym class and, despite trailing by nine just three minutes into the game, earned themselves their first half-time lead of the regular season. They went into the break with hopes as high as the ’60s, ahead 34-40.
Unfortunately, the unwelcome Huskie ladies cracked the Dinos’ shell, taking the lead for good at 45-44. The Dinos didn’t leave the mess on the court though; they pulled a king’s men and pieced Humpty Dumpty back together again in a 9-1 run to get within two points with seven minutes to play.
“It would be nice not to let the other teams go on big runs,” Harle lamented. “But I’m impressed with our ability to dig ourselves out of a hole.”
But the structural integrity of the shell had already been compromised. During a 15-minute game-delaying power outage (read: distraction) the Huskie ladies booby-trapped the court, leaving the Dinos behind 81-73 at the game’s conclusion.
Dino rookie Courtney Coyle led her team in points with 19, adding six rebounds. Lindsay Maundrell hit 15 points and hauled down seven boards while Tanya Hautala chipped in 11 points.
The Dinos continued their solid play on Saturday, keeping the Huskie ladies on their toes right down to the buzzer. The game was back-and-forth throughout, with the Huskie ladies controlling the lead for the most part. The final tie came at 52 with 10 minutes to play, but–like rookies writing their first 400-level midterms–the Dinos couldn’t finish.
While, like in the movies, the Dinos managed to slow the Huskie ladies’ momentum and keep the game teetering on the edge of the cliff, the Huskie ladies’ free throws were too heavy, tipping the car over the edge and sending the Dinos down with it.
Maundrell and Coyle were again stellar for the Dinos with 24 and 18 points respectively. Jamie Morck added 10 boards and 12 points in the heart-breaking 81-76 Dino loss.
“I think we realize we’re a pretty good team,” stated Maundrell. “We just have to start acting like it.”
She felt the Dinos played better than previous weekends, especially on Saturday.
The Dinos travel to Edmonton over the break with games against the University of Alberta Pandas Nov. 11-12. Lest the Pandas forget a new painful memory that sacred day.