CALGARY - After posting their best record of the decade at 16-6 and reaching No. 6 in the CIS Top 10 poll last season, the University of Calgary Dinos women's basketball team made its second straight early playoff exit at home, swept again by the Saskatchewan Huskies. Entering her 15th season as head coach of the program, head coach Shawnee Harle is determined not to three-peat and had the recruiting year to back it up.
Calling it “the best group of incoming players I've had since the Leighann Doan era (1996-2001),” the reigning Canada West coach of the year added six freshmen to her lineup which already features two conference all-stars and a second team All-Canadian. Five-foot-ten power forward Ashley Ashman out of Bert Church High School in Airdrie, Alta. tops the class, joined by Alex Cole and Megan MacLean, both products of Calgary's Sir Winston Churchill High School.
Teammates Robyn Gibson and Esther Graff (Spruce Grove, Alta.) along with Delta, B.C.'s Megan Schaufele round out the recruiting class.
“Adding these recruits to our current group of players will keep us competitive in the tough Canada West conference for several years to come,” Harle said.
What the Dinos lack in experience – eight of 11 players on the roster are in their first or second year of eligibility – they make up in speed and shooting ability. The Dinos were the highest-scoring team in the nation a year ago, averaging more than 83 points per game, and their top three scorers – Ashley Hill, Courtney Coyle, and Whitney Haswell – are all back. Coyle was named division MVP and earned a spot on the second All-Canadian team.
“Courtney is the greatest shooter I have ever coached and her range is unparalleled,” said Harle. “She is an incredible athlete and not only can she knock it down from three point land but also take it off the dribble, get all the way to the hoop, pull up, or dish/kick – a difficult match up for any defender.”
Haswell is a fifth-year forward from Oakville, Ont. who finished in the top 10 in scoring with 12.7 points per game. She was Calgary's top rebounder last season, averaging 6.6 per game, and she shot better than 54 per cent from the field on the season, earning her a spot on the second conference all-star team.
Point guard Megan Lang is a returning member of the CIS all-rookie team. Lang enjoyed an excellent freshman season, averaging just under eight points per game and leading the team in assists with 75.
If early results are any indication, the Dinos will be a tough match-up once again this season. Calgary has posted a 5-1 record in non-conference play, including wins over Memorial and Toronto – teams that finished No. 5 and No. 8 in the CIS Top 10 poll last season, respectively.
The Dinos have finished second in the Central Division of Canada West five consecutive years, but only once in that span have they won the home playoff series that comes along with that finish – a stat the coaching staff is determined to change in 2008-09.
Calgary opens the season with two straight weekends on the road, starting with the Manitoba Bisons on Friday night with a crosstown trip to face the Winnipeg Wesmen Saturday.
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