BRANDON, Man. – One day removed from dropping a substandard effort to the Brandon University Bobcats, the University of Calgary Dinos ratcheted up the intensity in all facets of their game, taking the Saturday rematch by a lopsided score of 96-64.

BOX SCORE

The Dinos, who are fighting for their playoff lives, got strong performances from everyone on the roster – a key factor as they continue their playoff push. Rookie forward Elise Horton led all scorers with 16 points to go along with eight rebounds in an impressive effort off of the bench, while Megan Schaufele's 13 points, five assists and seven steals also stood out in one of the young guards' better performances.

Four other Dinos scored in double figures on Saturday, with Ashley Hill leading the pack with 15 points.

Brandon was led by Chantal Gaslard, who connected for 13 points, while Kelsey Solarchuk grabbed 12 rebounds for the hosts. Stephanie Lacey-Avon, who was a big factor in the Bobcats' upset win on Friday, struggled, committing seven turnovers to go along with two of 14 shooting.

Early on it seemed to be a little bit of déjà vu for the Dinos, coming up empty-handed off of well-executed plays and strong full court pressure. Down 20-10 with the first quarter coming to a close, the Dinos finished strong, with a nine point run bringing it to within one going into the quarter break.

Calgary would keep the momentum going in the second, giving the Bobcats fits with their full court press as well as their improved rebounding. Calgary would extend their nine point first quarter finish to a 27-7 run, before giving some points back to go into the break at 42-37.

The halftime score would be the closest that Brandon would come, as Calgary simply wore the home-team down with their pressure. The Dinos would double the Bobcat output in the second half, scoring 54 points en route to the big victory.

The Dinos forced 33 Brandon turnovers in the game in a much better defensive effort. Calgary also corralled 42 total rebounds compared to 36 for Brandon, with 18 coming on the offensive end. And while Calgary would have liked to improve on their 70% effort from the free throw line, it was Brandon that really struggled, going 13 for 28.

Head Coach Shawnee Harle was much happier with her team's performance on Saturday night.

“We were just better defensively, we rebounded much better, and those were our two focuses coming into the game,” said coach Harle. “I thought our young kids played very well in a game that was of great importance, as we had to win to stay in the hunt.”

The big victory became even bigger once the out-of-town scores hit the wire, as both the Lethbridge Pronghorns and the Manitoba Bisons dropped their respective matches on Saturday night, putting the Dinos one victory ahead in the playoff race. The result is decidedly in Calgary's favour moving forward, as they now control their own destiny with one game left in the regular season.

That one game, however, will be against the Pronghorns, a feisty group that upended the Dinos in early January. With the result of the head-to-head matchup between the tied teams being Canada West's first playoff tie-breaker, a loss to the 'Horns would officially eliminate the Dinos from the playoffs as they would then 0-2 against Lethbridge in 2009-10.

Long story short, when the Dinos and Pronghorns face off next weekend, it will be the last chance for both squads, and Coach Harle knows full well how high the stakes are.

“When you're in a must-win game, you have to come and play your best basketball,” she explained. “Both teams are in a do-or-die situation, and I definitely wonder how our young team will respond in such a game. I do know that we won't get outworked, but we might get outsmarted. We are really looking forward to the opportunity.”

The big regular season finale for both teams will go in Lethbridge next Saturday, February 13, at 6 p.m. MT.

-UC-