CALGARY – Fourth-year University of Calgary guard Tamara Jarrett is the top defensive player while Dinos head coach Damian Jennings earned coach-of-the-year honours as Canada West announced its 2012-13 women's basketball awards and all-stars Wednesday.

In addition to the two major awards, the Dinos also landed a pair of players on the second all-star team in Jarrett and fifth-year forward Jessica Franz.

Other major awards handed out Wednesday included UBC's Kris Young as the conference's player of the year, while Jenna Bugiardini of Victoria was named the top rookie. UBC's Zana Williams will be the conference's nominee for the Tracy MacLeod Award, while Fraser Valley standout Alexa McCarthy moves forward as the nominee for the Sylvia Sweeney Award.

After a 19-3 season, the Dinos host the Canada West Final Four for the first time since 1991 this weekend, where they'll look to clinch their spot at the CIS Final 8 in Regina. The Dinos take on Alberta in a conference semi-final Friday night at 6 p.m. in the Jack Simpson Gym, with the winner moving to Saturday night's conference championship game as well as the national tournament. Regina faces Fraser Valley at 8 p.m. Friday night in the other semi-final.

TAMARA JARRETT – Canada West Defensive Player of the Year
Fourth-year guard Tamara Jarrett is the first Dino to be named the Canada West defensive player of the year since the award's inception in 2002, adding a spot on the second all-star team to her resume after a solid season.

The graduate of Calgary's John G. Diefenbaker High School was a key member of the Dinos' starting five as the team posted its best record since 1990. And while her offensive production of 12 points per game was important to the team – which finished as the second-highest scoring squad in the conference – it was her defensive tenacity that set her apart.

Jarrett finished second in the conference in steals with 63 – an average of three per game – and provided all kinds of trouble for opposing offensive players with her hard work, athleticism, and disruptive ability on defence. Calgary finished the year with an average of 13.3 steals per game, the best in Canada West.

“It's a real honour to have Tamara honoured by the other coaches as defensive player of the year,” said Calgary head coach Damian Jennings. “I really feel that she is just scratching the surface of her potential. Her one-on-one defence, particularly, has evolved into some of the best I've seen in any domestic league around the world. She is now being clever with her disruption and thinking strategically about how to manipulate her match-up, where in the past she relied on pure athleticism. And I have no doubt knowing the person she is that she would be the first to recognize the quality and selfless play of her teammates in making her an even better defender.”

DAMIAN JENNINGS – Canada West Coach of the Year
Hired as the University of Calgary's sixth women's basketball coach in early July, Damian Jennings didn't arrive on campus until mid-August after serving as an assistant for the British women's Olympic team. But despite the short turnaround and the lack of his own recruiting class in his first year, Jennings' Dinos made a major statement in 2012-13.

They won their first eight games of the season, including back-to-back sweeps of Alberta and Saskatchewan in November. And when it was all said and done, the Dinos had posted a 19-3 record – the program's best conference mark in more than two decades – and find themselves just a win away from heading to the CIS Final 8 as they get set to host the Canada West Final Four this weekend for the first time since 1991.

Demanding and receiving full buy-in, hard work, and intensity from every player on the roster, Jennings brought his up-tempo European flair to the game and made the Dinos a tough team to beat. Calgary averaged more than 74 points per game, better than all but one team in the conference, and found ways to win on several occasions when it seemed out of reach – most notably double-digit deficits in the fourth quarter at both Victoria and UBC Okanagan.

“Damian has had a fantastic first year, and this honour is well-deserved,” said Dinos athletic director Ron Wuotila. “From day one he established a culture of excellence which the players have truly embraced. For most of us involved in his appointment, the thought of hosting the Final Four in year one was beyond our wildest expectations; everyone involved with the program should be proud, but it takes a leader to establish the vision and Damian has demonstrated that he is that leader.”

2012-13 Canada West Women's Basketball Awards
Player of the Year: Kris Young, UBC
Rookie of the Year: Jenna Bugiardini, Victoria
Defensive Player of the Year: Tamara Jarrett, Calgary
Tracy MacLeod Award nominee: Zana Williams, UBC
Sylvia Sweeney Award nominee: Alexa McCarthy, Fraser Valley
Coach of the Year: Damian Jennings, Calgary

2012-13 Canada West Women's Basketball All-Stars
First Team
Michelle Clark, Regina
Dalyce Emmerson, Saskatchewan
Diane Schuetze, Thompson Rivers
Debbie Yeboah, Victoria
Kris Young, UBC

Second Team
Jessica Franz, Calgary
Tamara Jarrett, Calgary
Aieisha Luyken, Fraser Valley
Brittany Read, Regina
Holly Strom, Trinity Western

-UC-