CALGARY - With both the University of Calgary Dinos men's and women's basketball teams currently off to excellent starts in Canada West action, challenges await them this weekend as the Saskatchewan Huskies play host for the weekend series.

Having little problem with offence thus far in the early stages of the regular season, the Dinos women's team hung 115 points on the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack this past Saturday, three points shy of the team single-game scoring record. The Dinos (5-1) lead Canada West by a comfortable margin in points scored through six games, averaging 87.8 points per game, with the defending CIS champion Simon Fraser Clan the next closest squad.

The Dinos will get their first real offensive test of the year this weekend, however, as they go up against the stingy No. 2 Saskatchewan Huskies. The Huskies have allowed only 58 points per game as a team through four games, and recently dropped two heartbreaking matches to Pacific Division opponents – the UBC T-Birds (68-65 in OT) and the Victoria Vikes (58-52) – this past weekend.

Calgary will be looking for the type of balanced scoring it has received so far this season to break the Huskies defence down, and of course would not be opposed to more dominance from fourth-year guard Ashley Hill.

At 20.5 points per game, Hill sits in second in Canada West scoring and has been the go-to scorer for the Dinos through the first six games. However with two scoring games below her average this past weekend, the Dinos proved that there are plenty of other offensive options on the team able to step up when needed.

One of those players, second year forward Alex Cole, has been a force in the post for Calgary, averaging nearly 15 points a game to go along with six rebounds and two blocks. Megan Schaufele and Robyn Gibson, two more sophomores, have also been effective so far for the Dinos with Gibson notably scoring 20 points to pace Calgary against the WolfPack.

The Huskies are led by forward Lindsay DeGroot, who with 18 points and six rebounds per game will look to take advantage of a relatively thin Dinos frontcourt, and steady veteran guard Jill Humbert.

The Dinos men's squad has yet to lose through six matches and have beaten up on their opponents in the process, winning by a substantial margin of 28 points per game.

And while their opponents haven't necessarily been the strongest with a 5-12 combined record to open the season, Calgary can counter with the fact that they have yet to truly unleash their offence, as their key players have played limited minutes in the lopsided victories.

Expect this to change against the always challenging Saskatchewan Huskies, who at 2-2 are consistently a tough victory in their home gym.

The Dinos are led by their fifth year second team All-Canadian Ross Bekkering, who averages a double-double with 16.8 pts/g and 10.8 rebs/g in only 25 minutes of action. Robbie Sihota, also in his last year of eligibility, remains a dominant force alongside Bekkering in the post, with 16 points and five and a half rebounds per game to his credit.

Rookie point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson and six-foot-nine swingman Tyler Fidler patrol the backcourt for Calgary, combining for 27 points per game, while Ogungbemi-Jackson complements Fidler's 7.2 boards per contest with 4.5 assists.

As a team, the Dinos have yet to give up 70 points in a game this season, showing a remarkable knack for defence to go along with their powerful offence. However a stern individual test awaits this weekend in Saskatoon.

Dynamic shooting guard Showron Glover averages 25.8 points per game and leads not only the Huskies but the conference by nearly five points. Having scored 50 points in a single game against Lethbridge last season, and averaging four assists so far in 2009, Glover is as dangerous as they come with the ball in his hands.

The fourth year Fresno, Calif. native is helped by fifth year forwards Micheal Linklater and Troy Gottselig, who team up for 23 points and 13 rebounds per game.

The men and women head east for Saskatoon on Thursday, and will tip off on both Friday and Saturday nights against the Huskies, with the women starting at 6 p.m. followed by the men at 8 p.m.

-UC-