CALGARY – The fifth-ranked Alberta Pandas used a total team effort and a dominating performance on the both the offensive and defensive glass to draw first blood in the Battle of Alberta in 2009, earning a 68-60 win over the No. 6 Calgary Dinos Friday night.
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Buoyed by a 16-point effort from Anneka Bakker, the Pandas displayed their trademark tenacious defence and nearly doubled up the Dinos on the glass, hauling in 18 offensive rebounds while limiting Calgary's second-chance opportunities on defence. The Dinos managed to jack up just 46 shots on the night, compared to 72 for the visitors.
Alberta's offensive success came because of sheer volume – despite throwing up 26 more shots than the Dinos, the Pandas actually made just four more than their hosts, accounting for the eight-point advantage on the scoreboard.
Calgary's zone defence seemed to have success against the Pandas in the early going. After jumping out to an 8-4 lead early, Calgary held a four-point advantage at 17-13 after the opening quarter. The Pandas began to slowly chip away at the lead, however, tying it up at 20-20 midway through the second as their defence began to take hold. Alberta took a 22-20 lead which the Dinos briefly retook at 25-24, but back-to-back trays from Katie Barrett and Emily Bolduc gave the Pandas a 30-25 advantage that they would never relinquish. After outscoring their hosts 19-9 in the second quarter, Alberta took a 32-26 lead into the half.
The Pandas built on their lead as the second half opened, embarking on a 10-5 run to begin the third quarter. Calgary went nearly four minutes without a basket before a three-point play from Ashley Hill got the Dinos back on the scoreboard, but the lead had stretched to 12 as the third quarter ended.
The Dinos made a game of it in the fourth, cutting the lead to as few as six points, but nine turnovers in the quarter, many coming after key defensive stops, took the wind out of Calgary's offensive sails as the clock ran down.
Bakker was the only Panda to reach double digits in points, with Melanie Schlichter adding nine and Ashley Wigg eight. Four other Alberta players scored at least five points, and all but one of the Pandas dressed found the hoop at least once.
Hill's 18-point night led the Dinos offensively, while Megan Lang chipped in with 15. Courtney Coyle, a returning second team all-Canadian, struggled all night for the Dinos, managing just four points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
Meghan Knowles was sensational on the glass for Alberta, leading her side with eight rebounds in just 14 minutes on the floor. Schilchter added seven boards for the Pandas, as did Nicole Clarke, while Bakker had six. Senior Whitney Haswell matched Knowles' eight-board performance for Calgary, but no other Dino hauled in more than four rebounds, leading to the Pandas' significant advantage in that category.
No. 5 Alberta improves to 8-3 on the season with the win, while the loss drops No. 6 Calgary to 6-5 on the year. The two teams will become familiar with each other as the season progresses, with three of their remaining 11 games going head-to-head. The Pandas and Dinos will close out the year in Edmonton in mid-February, but not before they meet in the rubber match of this series, Saturday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.
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