By Sean Nyilassy and Lee Bogle
Well that was a waste. The 30 bones we spent on a three-nippled fortune teller and her crystalline-like ball told us what we already knew would happen. As predictable as not the weather, the Dinos dropped one to the top-ranked Simon Fraser University Clan and defeated the bottom dwelling Trinity Western University Spartans Jan. 28-29.
Friday night went to the obvious overdogs. The undefeated Clan surfed their way to win number 15 in a row in style over our out-gunned gunners. Tanya “score all the Dinos points” Hautala was particularly influenced, scoring a season low four points, all but dooming our ladies to a low scoring game.
While the Dinos took an early lead, this was soon whittled away like a fine corn-cob pipe. Down 32-23 at the half, a few motivational words could’ve turned this one around. Alas, they weren’t found. The Clan pulled away like a souped up pickup truck with a Confederate flag in the rear window. The Dinos were lynched, old-school.
The final summation of points led to a 66-47 tally. Lindsay Maundrell hit for 15, while Cory Bekkering recorded a double-double with 12 points and ten boards. And Hautala still only had four.
Saturday night, our ladies finished reading Crime and Punishment and started on Bridget Jones’s Diary. To counter a game against the top-ranked team in Canada, the Dinos were awarded with a match against the lowly 1-13 Spartans.
“We executed very well on Saturday night,” justified Head Coach Shawnee Harle. “We did a better job of making the shots we missed on Friday.”
And how! Calgary hopped out to an early lead leading 36-26 in time for the halftime show. But the Spartans and their cheerleaders weren’t done.
Led by such powerful chants as, “Who’s that Spartan in my teepee–it’s me! It’s me!” TWU fought to within four. Then the big guns came out for YYC; airport chat for Calgary. Hautala hit for 5.5 times as many points as the previous night (read: 22), while Bekkering added 13 points. We came out on top 72-56.
The Dinos now find themselves with a 7-9 record for the regular season after a good start 5-3. They currently hold the final playoff spot, but anything can change in the highly competitive Canada West.
“We are preparing and planning to be in playoffs,” noted Harle.
And they have a chance, playing two games against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Feb. 4-5, the only team ahead of them in the central division. Two Dino wins will secure the fourth spot in playoffs. Anything can happen in this last crazy, emotion filled weekend.
“We’ve got to go in and giv’er,” stated an electrified Michelle Stiphout.
The condition is contagious like a deadly, deadly virus.
“We have a good feeling going into this weekend,” Hautala harped.
And hopefully a couple of wins this weekend will keep the good feeling young.
The Huskies sit at 8-8, the Dinos at 7-9 and the University of Alberta Pandas and University of Lethbridge Pronghorns teeter at 6-10. Depending on who wins the U of A-U of L matches this weekend, any team could take over the lead in Canada West’s central division.