CALGARY - It's been a rough season for the Dinos women's basketball team, and the task ahead of them as they enter the playoffs is a tough one.
After enjoying home court advantage for three straight seasons, the Dinos head on the road to open the post-season, and they're heading into familiar – and hostile – territory: the University of Alberta Main Gym.
It's the second straight weekend the Dinos will take on the Pandas after closing the regular season against their archrivals last weekend, and the results weren't pretty. The Dinos dropped both games by 83-53 and 84-60 scores, losing all four games to the Pandas in the season series in the process.
Shawnee Harle's squad, competing in arguably the most difficult division in the country, did manage to make the playoffs for the 15th consecutive year under her tutelage with a record of 8-14, three full games ahead of Lethbridge for the third and final playoff spot in the Central Division.
Because of flip-flopping playoff formats in Canada West over the past decade, the Dinos and Pandas have met in the playoffs just three times in the last 10 years, with Calgary taking two of those series. Their most recent meeting came in 2006 when the Dinos beat the Pandas in two straight games in the Jack Simpson Gym, but the last time they played in Edmonton it was Alberta that got the upper hand, winning a tight three-game series back in 2002.
Home-court advantage would seem to be the key in playoff series between the two teams, then, and the Pandas have that covered – with momentum certainly on their side after two lopsided wins on the weekend.
The Dinos still have the talent to win, however, and Alberta has been caught off guard already this season – see an upset loss to the Lethbridge Pronghorns one night after beating them by 30 points. It's the playoffs, and anything can happen.
A key for Calgary will be a balanced scoring attack that does not rely exclusively on Ashley Hill, who finished the season third in Canada West scoring at a 15.5 points-per-game clip. Courtney Coyle, a fifth year forward who was a second team all-Canadian last year, struggled offensively this season and saw her offensive output drop more than four points per game. She was the only Dino other than Hill to finish in the top 30 in conference scoring, and the supporting cast – mainly point guard Megan Lang and senior post Whitney Haswell – will need to score if the Dinos are to extend their season.
Scoring against Alberta has been a challenge for every team that faced them this season thanks to their trademark solid defensive play. Playing in a division featuring high-scoring offences Saskatchewan and Calgary, the Pandas still managed to allow just 55 points per game on the season – second-best in the conference behind Victoria.
This is the third straight season that the Dinos will face an opponent in the opening round of the playoffs after playing them to end the regular season. Both previous times their opponent was the Saskatchewan Huskies, and both previous times Calgary lost the playoff series on home court.
The winner of the Dinos-Pandas match-up will move on to face the Saskatchewan Huskies in the Central Division Final in Saskatoon, where a berth to the conference Final Four will be on the line.
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