CALGARY – Fueled by a strong effort on the defensive end, the University of Calgary Dinos took care of the Thompson Rivers WolfPack with a 76-61 victory at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium in Calgary.

The Dinos had 19 steals in the game, ensuring the WolfPack no comfort bringing up the ball. Both Jenna Kaye and Megan Lang were instrumental in the Dinos' thievery, swiping seven and six steals respectively.

This disruptive flow allowed the Dinos to jump all over the 'Pack in the first half where they earned a 42-25 margin. Calgary outrebounded Thompson Rivers 24-14 over the first 20 minutes, while rookie sniper Erika Romanow nailed two of her three three-point shots to command momentum into the break.

The 'Pack would fight back in the third quarter, where a better rebounding effort and an offensive push from Jen Ju brought the game to within nine. The WolPack outrebounded the Dinos in the third by a 13-9 margin, while Ju potted 11 of her team-high 18 points.

The game would settle back into Calgary's hands though, amping up their defence again to take the 15 point victory.

While Calgary managed a strong effort in the steals and rebounding department, it was turnovers that prevented them from running away with the score throughout the game. The Dinos were attributed with 33 total miscues, many of which being of the sloppy variety. Between the two teams there were an astounding 63 total turnovers.

Alex Cole led all scorers on Friday with 19 points, including a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line, and eight rebounds. To go with her seven steals, Kaye had 11 points and eight rebounds, striking distance away from a triple-double.

Thompson Rivers was pushed by the speedy Jen Ju's 18 points while Diane Schuetze and Taiysa Worsfield joined her in double figures, each potting 11 points. Schuetze added a team high nine rebounds.

Calgary went to the free-throw line 33 times, connecting on an impressive 26 of them, while the WolfPack only managed 10 conversions out of 17 tries from their stripe.

Dinos Head Coach Shawnee Harle commented on the victory.

“I thought we started the game really well and we were able to control the first half with our press” said Harle, whose squad hosts the 2011 CIS Final 8 tournament. “We're big believers in getting offense out of our defence, and I think we did that well today”

“Alex Cole played a solid game for us, we had great contributions off of the bench, and we're executing very well within our systems. We played very good basketball tonight.”

The Dinos continue their weekend home-stand tomorrow night, where they will face the UBC Okanagan Heat, while the Thompson Rivers WolfPack will travel south for a battle with the Lethbridge Pronghorns.

-UC-