The University of Calgary basketball ladysaurs were on the verge of a sweep in their first weekend set Nov. 2 and 3. Unfortunately, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds were not willing to lose.
The ninth-ranked Ladysaurs opened up Fri. with a convincing 84-56 trouncing of the University of Victoria Vikes. While the final score was indeed a blowout, the game was in question going into halftime with the Dinos holding only a four-point lead.
“I felt we would wear UVic down and eventually take the lead,” said Dinos bench boss Shawnee Harle. “I wasn’t expecting it so soon and for the explosion we had in the third quarter. We got off to a great start on defence to start the second half and we never looked back.”
The game featured an outstanding surge by guard Courtenay Coyle, who had a game-high 23 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Coyle shot 8-16 from the field, including an astounding 4-8 from beyond the three-point line.
“Courtney Coyle is important in every quarter against every opponent,” said Harle. “She has the ability to break a game open and that’s exactly what she did in the second half.”
In the weekend’s second game, the ladysaurs pushed the third-ranked UBC T-Birds to the brink, but were edged out by their superior team play finishing 72-66. The Dinos mounted a charge in the second half and closed the deficit to four points before UBC’s outside shooting took over. The Dinos were 1-12 from the three-point line while UBC held the distinct advantage going 8-19.
Though the Dinos put forth a weak effort, Harle insisted it had more to do with the mental aspect of the game as opposed to the physical play.
“I was very disappointed with our UBC game,” she said. “Beating a team like UBC has nothing to do with our physical ability. It has more to do with belief that we can beat a top-ranked team.”