The UNBC Timberwolves ordered the upset special but the Calgary Dinos weren't offering anything quite that tasty on the dinner menu Friday night in Calgary.
They served up an 81-58 decision that left the T-wolves facing elimination in the U Sports Canada West women's basketball best-of-three quarterfinal series.
Erin McIntosh was the big gun for the Dinos, collecting a game-high 22 points, while Bobbi Jo Colburn also brought out the dagger, sinking 16 points. Courtney Donaldson provided a spark for the home team, hitting four of her nine triple attempts for a 12-point game. Michaela Nieuwenhuizen also hit double figures with 10 points.
"We knew they were going to press, but we weren't helping each other enough," said UNBC point guard Emily Holmes. "It is one thing to watch it and whole other thing to play against it. We have to learn from it and do a better job tomorrow."
Vasiliki Louka picked up 16 points and had 12 rebounds for UNBC. Louka also had two assists and led the T-wolves defensively with one block and three steals. Maria Mongomo, who had 29 points in UNBC's 80-78 win last week against Trinity Western, was held to 14 points. Madison Landry, with 12 points, and Alina Shakirova, with 10, also reached double figures.
The T-wolves were at their best in the second and third quarters. After falling behind 20-10 in the first quarter they were outscored 22-20 and 18-15 the next two quarters. UNBC cut the deficit to seven, trailing 50-43 with 3:16 left. Consecutive threes from Donaldson near the end of the quarter gave Calgary a 60-45 lead.
"We were taking better care of the ball, and being more patient on offence," said Holmes. "We were getting good looks, but they were hitting those shots. Give them credit, we would play defence for 20 seconds and the last few seconds they would get a look and score it."
Calgary maintained a seven-point edge over UNBC in the final quarter.
The Dinos took advantage of their long-range shooting to get the better of their opponents. They shot 12-for-28 from three-point range. The T-wolves were limited to just 11 attempts and sunk three of them.
Neither team was very successful from the foul line. UNBC shot 61.9 per cent (13-for-21), while the Dinos hit 44 per cent (9-for-20) of their free throws.
The teams are back on the court for Game 2 today at 5 p.m. PT. If a third game is needed it would be played Sunday at noon PT.
