The University of Calgary lady basketsaurs continued their hot streak with yet another sweep, this time over the Manitoba Bisons and Winnipeg Wesmen Feb. 1-2. It wasn’t pretty however, as the Dinos squeaked past Manitoba on Fri. by the score of 87-76, despite a very poor shooting night from the floor. Star sophomore guard Ashley Hill typified the Dinos’ struggles, going 3-16 from the field. Despite the shooting percentage, Hill did still lead the team in scoring, contributing 18 points to the win. Coach Shawnee Harle stressed the importance of winning games, even on nights where the ball isn’t going in,
“Our motto for the remainder of the year is ‘find a way’,” she said. “That’s what we did on Fri. It wasn’t pretty. We didn’t shoot well, but we still found a way to win.”
It took only one day for Ashley Hill to break out of her shooting slump, when on Sat. night, she scored 28 points to lead a 76-69 comeback win over the Wesmen. Senior Michelle Willson, in her final regular season home game, pitched in with an impressive nine rebounds, seven points and two blocks.
With contributions from guard Courtney Coyle and Willson, the ladysaurs continued to receive excellent secondary scoring to compliment Hill. As Coach Harle emphasized, the playoffs will be require a total team effort in order to advance.
“Ashley is important in every victory, as are the rest of our players,” she said. “We need all nine players to step their game up a notch as we head into playoffs. Ashley certainly caught fire in the second half on Sat. [vs. Winnipeg] and I think everybody fed off her spark.”
With a 15-5 record, including 9-3 at home, the ladysaurs resiliency and disciplined play has resulted in, at least, a second-place finish in the central division of the Canada West conference. As Coach Harle pointed out, this Dinos squad continues to find ways to win in the tough Canada West conference.
“What I like about this team is we keep finding ways to win,” she said. “We have very balanced scoring, we have multiple defences we can play and it all equates to a 15-5 record at this point in the season.”
As impressed as the head coach is by the record, the ladysaurs know that they have not completed anything yet. With the conclusion of the regular season coming next weekend, in a double header versus the University of Saskatchewan, the playoffs are closer than ever. The ladysaurs will begin their quest for a CIS championship in the Canada West division semifinals starting Feb. 15.