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Hill lifts Dinos to split with Wesmen
CALGARY – Fourth-year forward Ashley Hill put up 27 points
as the University of Calgary Dinos rebounded from a tight Friday
loss to defeat the Winnipeg Wesmen 87-81 Saturday night, earning a
split of their season-opening weekend series.
The teams combined for an impressive 328 points over the weekend as
offence most certainly got the better of defence on both sides.
Saturday, however, the Dinos made the defensive plays when they had
to en route to their come-from-behind victory.
“I said kind of sarcastically at halftime that this game is
about which team is the worst on defence,” said Dinos head
coach Shawnee Harle. “The ‘I want to score more than I
want to defend’ will win you some games, but in the long haul
it’s not the answer. With this young team I’m trying to
get them habits that are going to help them win in February,
regardless of what happens in October.
“The difference last night was just our stinky first quarter,
where it looked like we hadn’t defended before. Having said
that, we gave up one more point in the first quarter tonight than
we did last night, but we also scored more so the hole wasn’t
as big. All I know is that this team is going to be in every game,
one way or another. And I didn’t think we played badly last
night, I think Winnipeg played and shot very well, so I
didn’t feel we had to make a lot of adjustments.”
After spotting the Wesmen a 28-17 lead after 10 minutes in
Friday’s opener, the Dinos kept the deficit to just five at
29-24 heading into the second quarter Saturday. The entire game was
much tighter, with neither team holding a double-digit lead at any
point in the night and six lead changes overall, including two in
the fourth quarter.
Hill’s 27 points came on 7-17 shooting, including 4-of-9 from
beyond the arc as she found her range with the long ball. Her final
hoop of the evening came with just under three minutes to play in
the fourth quarter, extending the Dinos’ lead to six points
with the Wesmen in foul trouble. Three Winnipeg players fouled out
in the dying moments, with the Wesmen losing the services of three
of their top four scorers in Jessica Stromberg, Amy Ogidan, and
Alex MacIver down the stretch.
The officials called a total of 52 fouls on the night and, though
the Dinos did have three players finish with four infractions, only
Megan Lang fouled out.
Caitlin Gooch was effective again for Winnipeg with 21 points on
the night, while MacIver added 13. Stromberg and Mackenzie Prasek
drained 11 each, while Ogidan hit double digits with 10. Kaitlyn
Rempel led all players with 10 rebounds on the night, eight of
which came off the offensive glass.
Megan “Shorty” Schaufele followed up Hill’s 27
with 16 of her own, while Alex Cole was the only other Dino to hit
double digits in scoring with 12. Schaufele managed to grab five
defensive boards from her point guard spot and finished with six
rebounds on the night, second only to Robyn Gibson’s eight
for Calgary.
The win vaults the Dinos up to 1-1 on the season, while Winnipeg
falls to the same 1-1 score. Both teams head to Winnipeg for their
next action, where the Wesmen will host the Alberta Pandas while
the Dinos pay a visit to the Manitoba Bisons next weekend.
Source:
Ben Matchett
Sports Information Director
University of Calgary Dinos
