When the Dinos women’s basketball team was swept by the University of Alberta Pandas in Edmonton in mid-November, Head Coach Shawnee Harle mentioned how much she was looking forward to playing the Pandas again in her own gym in January, when the team had more time to gel.
The opportunity came last weekend, and the Dinos made the most of it, dominating the Pandas at both ends of the floor over both games, coming away with a 71-55 win on Friday and a 75-65 win on Saturday.
“There’s no magic formula,” said Harle. “Every weekend we gain more experience. Our hard work continues to pay off. The team is starting to see that success is no accident: you earn it.”
On Friday night, the Dinos’ five starters all reached double figures in points, and two players reached double figures in rebounds. Just as important was that the Dinos held back the Pandas’ best players, most notably Canadian national team member Christine Shewchuck.
Anna Bekkering was the Dinos’ biggest star on Saturday night, putting up 21 points while doing a formidable job of guarding Shewchuck.
“Anna is doing what you hope all fifth-year players do,” said Harle. “She’s playing the best basketball of her career.”
Tanya Hautala added 18 points, Shari Jonker contributed ten, and Jessica Foltinek had ten rebounds.
“Jessica had her best weekend of the year,” Harle enthused. “When she puts her mind to it, she is the most physically dominant post in our division.”
Notably absent from the scoresheet on Friday night was Lindsay Maundrell, the Dinos’ up-and-coming offensive force.
“That had never happened to me before,” Maundrell stated. “So many people stepped up, and we still won, but I was disappointed because it had never happened before.”
Maundrell came back with seven points on Saturday night, but emphasized the importance of beating the Pandas over any personal numbers.
“We’re playing so much better as a team [than in November],” she said. “We knew they wouldn’t expect us to come out as we did. We stepped it up this weekend.”
The Dinos now sit firmly atop their division with an 8-4 record. Their next test is a pair of road games against the lowly University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. While the ‘Horns may have the reputation of division patsies, they are coming off a sweep of the Saskatchewan Huskies, and now may be able to salvage their season.
“Playing at home will give them an advantage,” noted Maudrell, whose Dinos won two over the ‘Horns in November. “We’re not going to take them lightly.”