The University of Calgary basketball ladysaurs survived yet another weekend of double-header basketball, sweeping through Fraser Valley and Thompson Rivers University. However, it did not come easily, as Fraser Valley pushed the Dinos to the limit on Fri. before finally succumbing in overtime to the ladysaurs’ superior offence. The 108-101 victory was sparked by CIS Athlete of the Week Ashley Hill’s 36-point effort along with four three-pointers from guard Courtney Coyle.
The upstart Fraser Valley Cascades kept the game close, despite the Dinos’ hot shooting, with a whopping 51 points off of 40 turnovers. Coach Shawnee Harle insisted that the turnovers were more a product of the ladysaurs’ mistakes than Fraser Valley’s defence.
“They didn’t do anything to cause our turnovers,” she said. “We did it to ourselves by making poor decisions with the ball.”
Looking to improve on the error-filled shootout effort from the previous day, the ladysaurs went up against Thompson Rivers University. With a much more consistent and calculated effort, they cut their turnover numbers down to one and subsequently blew out TRU 93-47. As Harle emphasized, preparation was key to minimizing turnovers and playing good defence.
“We watched tape that morning of our game against UCFV [Fraser Valley] and we were able to fix up some of the holes when we played TRU,” she said. “We are learning a new defence, so watching the tape helped us see where we can play much smarter on defence.”
Despite having only one win to their opponents’ name, the lady Dinos knew that Thompson Rivers would still require their best effort. Coach Harle agreed, dismissing any concerns that her team ever overlooked the losing squad.
“Not at all,” she said. “I expect our team to give the same effort and intensity every time they are on the floor, regardless of the opponent.”
With the win, the sixth-ranked ladysaurs push their record to 13-5, good enough for second place in the central division of the Canada West conference. Riding a six-game home winning streak, the Dinos return to the Jack Simpson Gym this weekend to take on the Manitoba Bisons and Winnipeg Wesmen.