Women basketballers lose to losers

By Sean Nyilassy and Lee Bogle

The University of Calgary women’s basketball team trudged north Jan. 23-24 to meet the University of Alberta Pandas. Not only did the girls from Edmonton hand our ladies a pair of losses, they also bitchslapped our city with a cold front o’ death from the north!


Not too bad, you may think, until informed of the Pandas’ 2-10 record before this weekend.


"They don’t suck," blurted a noticeably agitated Lindsay Maundrell. "They’ve won some games this year, [pause] but oh yeah, most were against us."


Indeed! The Dinos led 40-36 after the first half of Friday evening’s game, but let it slip like a waxed crazy carpet on a cold winter’s night, adding only 19 points in the second half. The final tally was a disheartening 67-59 catastrophe. Maundrell chipped in 14 and was second only to teammate Tanya Hautala who led all scorers for the eve with 23.


"We were competitive on D[efense]," noted Assistant Coach Claire Mitton on the second half performance. "But offensively we were like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"


Saturday night saw both teams come to play.


"It was a heartbreak loss," Mitton sighed. "We played with a lot of character."


Questionable officiating led to a costly last-minute point from the charity stripe for the Pandas, ultimately determining the Dinos’ fate. They fell graciously 59-58.


"Saturday’s loss didn’t feel as bad," chirped Maundrell. "It could have gone either way."


Hautala again led the team with 17, while Cory Bekkering was able to capitalize for 14.


The losses leave the Dinos second in the Central Division to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies with a record of 6-8.


"We need everyone to play at the level they are capable of," commented Mitton. "One or two players putting up big numbers won’t bring in the wins."





Above the Rim:


In unrelated news, the British government and Hautala (a.k.a. "T") have reached a formal agreement on the controversial naming of a popular mid-afternoon time in the isles of Britain. During this time, the Brits sit down and discuss the glorious abilities of Hautala while enjoying a jolly good cup of tea and a scone or two. Hence, "T-time" was born.


"Yeah, well, I am British," Hautala agreed modestly.