CALGARY – The Pack the Jack Six Pack rolls on, with a weekend that is always circled on the schedule early in the season: visits from Victoria and UBC.

The storied rivalries between the Dinos, Vikes, and Thunderbirds that spans the Rocky Mountains isn't what it was in its heyday of the 1980s and 1990s, what with the recent introduction of divisional play in Canada West. However, though the teams only see each other once a season now, each match-up takes on added importance – especially with the clock ticking quickly toward the playoffs.

For the Dinos women, the Vikes and T-Birds present an opportunity to snap a four-game conference losing skid and bounce back from a two-game sweep at the hands of the Alberta Pandas last week. It's certainly not an easy task, with both teams ranked in the CIS Top 10 (Victoria at No. 7, UBC at No. 9), but the young Dinos have shown they can be competitive with the top teams in the conference.

The two losses last week came in vastly dissimilar games, although the result was disappointingly the same each night. Friday the Dinos came back from as many as 13 points in arrears, recording five consecutive defensive stops to end the game. Though the first two stops resulted in points at the other end for Calgary, their last three opportunities to score wouldn't fall, resulting in a two-point loss.

Just 24 hours later, Calgary led for more than 39 minutes before the Pandas took their first lead of the game on a pair of free throws in the final 50 seconds of play, holding on for a four-point win.

With the losses behind them, Calgary turns its attention to the task at hand: moving back into a playoff position in the Prairie Division. With just seven games left, the Dinos are in sixth pace in the division and must finish no worse than fifth to make the playoffs.

The Victoria Vikes are always a special opponent for Calgary head coach Shawnee Harle, who played and coached at UVic under the legendary Kathy Shields. The Vikes, led by Calgary native and reigning CIS player of the year Kayla Dykstra, provide a similar challenge to the Pandas, playing a defensive, drawn-out style that has seen them average just under 65 points per game – a stark contrast to Calgary's up-tempo, high-octane offence that has scored 80 points per game this season. However, the Dinos are still below .500 at 6-7 because they have given up 82 points on average, the highest per-game total in the conference.

Calgary and Victoria met once this season at the Dinos' Holiday Hoops tournament, with Calgary breaking the century mark with a 103-91 victory. While that result will certainly boost the confidence of the home side, which posted an 84-56 win the last time the Vikes visited for a regular season game in 2007, stopping Dykstra will continue to be a priority for Coach Harle's squad. The Vikes' ace poured in 35 points in that December meeting.

The Dinos have had limited success against UBC in recent years as well, with their last win coming Nov. 5, 2004 on the road at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver. Led by nearly 16 points per game from third-year Halifax native Zara Huntley, the Thunderbirds are riding a five-game winning streak heading into the weekend, which will see them face Lethbridge Friday before heading to Calgary for Saturday night's contest in the Jack.
 
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