LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – For the first time since 1982, the Canada West playoffs in women's basketball will not feature the Calgary Dinos.
BOX SCORE
Calgary's 27-year postseason streak came to a close Saturday when they dropped a 94-84 decision to the Lethbridge Pronghorns, dropping to 8-12 on the season. In a three-way tie with Manitoba and Lethbridge for fifth place and a shot at the conference's wild card berth, the Horns emerge as winners because of their four wins against the Dinos and Bisons this season. Lethbridge awaits its wildcard fate, while the Dinos will head into a long off-season.
In dire need of the victory, the Horns' two top scorers, Stephanie Price and Lauren Taal stepped up with big nights. Price scored 18 of her game high 28 points in the second half – when the game counted the most – while Taal picked up 21 points. For the second time this season, ex-Dino Becky Heninger had a strong night against her former team, coming off the bench to chip in with 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting and a perfect 6 of 6 from the line.
Alex Cole led the way for the Dinos with 18 points and 9 boards and
Robyn Gibson hit for 17 points in a losing effort.
From the opening tip-off, the court was electric with nervous energy from both the Horns and the Dinos, making for a thrilling postseason-like atmosphere; as expected, the game remained tight throughout with neither team ever holding a double digit lead. The Horns held slim 6 and 7 point leads respectively after the first two quarters, with a halftime score of 46-39.
The Dinos would not going down without a fight and exploded in the third quarter, putting up 30 points, 9 fewer than they could manage the entire first half, and took a razor thin 69-67 lead into the final frame.
With only 10 minutes to play, and playoff lives on the line, the toe-for-toe affair continued into the final quarter. A 15-2 run over the middle five minutes of the fourth quarter turned a 4 point Horns deficit into a game high 9 point lead, and the first real separation between the two teams. The teams traded points in the dying minutes of the game, allowing the Horns to come away with the much needed victory.
While both teams had exceptional shooting nights, turnovers were the decisive factor in the game's outcome. The opportunistic Horns capitalized on the inability of Dinos to maintain control of the ball, scoring 33 points off the whopping 29 Dinos turnovers. With only 6 turnovers in the second half and 17 on the night, the Horns took far better care of the ball than their counterpart.
The Dinos hit for a scorching 55% on the night and the Horns were 8 points above their season average, hitting on 34 of 70 from the field for over 48
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