It’s all over for the UNBC Timberwolves women’s basketball team.
The Calgary Dinos ended the T-wolves' season Saturday in Calgary, beating UNBC 92-55 to wrap up the best-of-three U Sports Canada West Conference quarterfinal series.
Ranked No. 7 in Canada, the Dinos were deadly from three-point range, hitting eight triples in the first half and nine more in the second half. As hot as the Dinos were with their threes, the T-wolves wilted under the full-court pressure their opponents applied and couldn't buy one until the 6:30 mark of the fourth quarter, when Maria Mongomo finally found her target.
They went 1-for-14 with their three attempts.
“That is one of the best teams in Canada, in our first time in the quarterfinals,” UNBC coach Sergey Shchepotkin told UNBC sports information officer Rich Abney. “It is OK to lose to them, and a good experience. I truly believe over the next few years, playoff games against good teams like this will be the norm for us.”
Calgary led 22-10 after one quarter and 45-23 at the half, then outscored the T-wolves 28-9 in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 72-32.
Four Dinos reached double figures in points, led by Reyna Crawford (15 points), Liene Stalidzane (13), Kiki Knox (12) and Erin McIntosh (10). Knox also grabbed nine rebounds. None of the Dinos played more than 21 minutes.
“That is how their team is built. They have found a lot of good shooters, and they play really well in their gym,” said Shchepotkin. “They were on fire, and it is really tough to stop them. They did a great job and we have things to work on.
“It is good we didn’t give up. Our young players played well, like Alexis Magrath and Lucy Guan. "That is good for our future.”
Madison Landry put up game-high 20 points for UNBC, while Mongomo collected 14 points and 10 rebounds. UNBC post Vasiliki Louka, in her final university game, was limited to eight points and 11 rebounds.
"Louka is such a classy person, as well as a very talented basketball player," Dinos head coach Damian Jennings told canadawest.org. "I hope she feels the way that we try and play against her, is due to the respect we have for her."
The Dinos won Game 1 of the series 81-58. Calgary advances to a semifinal series this weekend against Regina. Lethbridge swept Alberta and will play top-ranked Saskatchewan in the other semifinal series. The semifinal winners advance to the Canada West final and will gain a berth in the national tournament in Toronto.
UNBC opened the playoffs with an 80-78 win over Trinity Western. Louka and guard Abby Gibb, a native of Calgary, are graduating the university ranks this spring.
"There was a lot of tears,” said Shchepotkin postgame. “I am sad that these two talented athletes have finished their career. I want to thank them very much.”
