CALGARY - The University of Saskatchewan Huskies and University of Calgary Dinos know each other well.
The basketball Central Division rivals routinely meet four times a year and in the last four seasons have seen each other in the playoffs four times (once for the men and three times on the women's side). Since 2004-05, the women have a compiled a 15-8 record (including wins in two division semifinals and one division final playoff series), the men also have a winning record at 11-7 (including one divisional semifinal win).
On the women's side, Calgary and Saskatchewan sit one-two in the Central Division standings. The No. 4 Huskies enter the game with a 4-2 record and two games in hand over the No. 6 Dinos (6-2). The Huskies are on a high after sweeping the then second-ranked University of Alberta Pandas in Edmonton last weekend. The sweep shoved the Pandas down to the No. 5 spot in the top 10 and pushed the Huskies back to the No. 4 position.
The last time the two teams met the Huskies pulled off an upset two-game sweep in the division semifinal in Calgary – winning 69-66 on Feb. 15 and 80-75 in overtime a night later. During the 2007-08 regular season, Calgary won three of the four meetings.
Three Dinos have scored more than 90 points in their eight games. Ashley Hill leads with 119 points (14.9 per game), Courtney Coyle sits with 95 (11.9 per game) and Whitney Haswell has 92 (11.5 per game). Coyle and Haswell were both Canada West All-Stars last season. Jana Spindler leads the Huskies with 89 points (14.8 per game) and 48 rebounds, followed by Kim Tulloch at 79 (13.2 per game) and 30 rebounds.
On the men's side, the No. 5 ranked Dinos are tied with UBC for the best record in Canada West at 7-1. Their only loss came on Oct. 25, 82-68 to the Winnipeg Wesmen – a wake-up call from which the team has responded well. The Huskies sit tied for third in the Central Division with a 2-4 record. The teams met in the preseason with Calgary earning a 79-72 victory. Calgary won three of the four regular season meetings in 2007-08.
Robbie Sihota, Henry Bekkering, Tyler Fidler and Ross Bekkering have led the charge for Calgary. The four have scored 526 of the Dinos 680 points this season. Fidler is the reigning Canada West rookie of the year and Henry Bekkering was an all-star in 2007-08.
Showron Glover has been the highlight for the Huskies, who lost a litany of all-stars to depleted eligibility after the 2007-08 season. The newcomer has averaged 22.8 points per game scoring 137 this season, followed by Troy Gottselig with 80 points and 41 rebounds.
The Huskies enter the game from a two game split with the Alberta Golden Bears. Calgary carries a six-game winning streak into the weekend and a recent sweep of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.
This weekend's series are the final competitions for the Dinos basketball squads before the Christmas break. The Dinos return to Canada West action with another key division match-up Jan. 2-3, 2009 when they host the Alberta Pandas and Golden Bears in the Jack Simpson Gym.
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