By Lee Bogle and Sean Nyilassy
The University of Calgary women’s basketball team was as consistent as a series of doctors’ opinions Nov. 26-27.
Confused? So are we after another weekend of brilliance and sluggishness, grace and clumsiness. After shaming one of the top teams in the country Friday night, our ladies played like girls rather than women on Saturday to split their weekend series with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
After a slow start Friday, the Dinos applied those funky chest zappers and were cleared for a comeback by co-captain Dr. Tanya Hautala. The blips kept going as the Dinos fought back to a 30-32 deficit at the half. The Dinos D decidedly derided detailed detrimental decisions and their O overpowered the opposition with omniscient oversight on optimal open opportunities.
Yep, they kicked some ass. Cory Bekkering hauled down 13 boards and tossed the ball up to Hautala, who drained 31 points. Rookie Whitney Haswell showed that she’s more comfortable working on the hardwood than relaxing on the hardwood of the bench. She dazzled the home crowd with eight points and six rebounds.
“I think [Hautala’s] 31 points was a big part of it,” Head Coach Shawnee Harle explained of the win, “but also holding them to 60 was a sign of toughness.”
Saturday’s game was a different story. The Dinos figured they would wrap up Minor Basketball Weekend by playing like minor leaguers.
We’ll let the stats speak for themselves. After shooting 48 per cent from the field and 33 per cent from behind the arc Friday, the Dinos plummeted to 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively in Saturday’s match. Needless to say the result was a resounding 60-48 loss.
“Saskatchewan stepped up the defense a notch,” Harle recalled. “The lid on the hoop just didn’t seem to open.”
And how! Co-captain Lindsay Maundrell was 1-14 from the floor. In better news, despite being held to four points in the first half, Hautala still managed 17 for the night. Bekkering added 10 and Haswell had another solid night, bringing in seven points and five rebounds as well as receiving Player of the Game salutations.
This year, Haswell hopes to “become stronger and be a better basketball player.”
We admit this is definitely more realistic than our goal of knitting a suit of solid gold.
The ladies take a break from regular season play until Jan. 7-8 when they take a road trip to exciting Manitoba to take on the University of Manitoba Bisons and University of Winnipeg Wesmen.
If you are stuck in close proximity to the U of C over the holidays, why not head to the Jack Simpson Gymnasium Dec. 29-31 for the Primewest Energy Holiday Hoops tournament. The Dinos host the University of British Colombia Thunderbirds, University of Toronto Varsity Blues and the Saint Francis Xavier University X-Women. Hautala is confident that the Dinos have a good chance against the eastern teams.
“It’s gonna be tough for them,” she smiled. “We’re gonna make their lives a little more difficult.”
Dinos games are at 7 p.m. Dec. 29-30 and 2 p.m. Dec. 31. Come put two hands together for our ladies and watch as they bring home some wins.