CALGARY - With the semester break just around the corner, the Dinos women's basketball team hosts a pair of historic rivals this weekend as the Victoria Vikes and UBC Thunderbirds visit the Jack Simpson Gym.

The Dinos women got off to a roaring start this season, winning their first four games, before running into the No. 1-ranked Regina Cougars last week in the Saskatchewan capital. Despite playing the Cougars tough both nights, the hometown squad was able to emerge with 69-54 and 84-67 victories to bring Calgary's record down to 4-2.

Calgary remains in third place in Canada West's east division, sitting behind the undefeated Alberta Pandas (6-0) and Regina (5-0). They face the top two teams in the west division this weekend in No. 2 UBC (3-1) and Victoria (4-2).

Both games tip off at 6 p.m. MT, live on CanadaWest.tv.

The Dinos will get a boost with the addition of both Megan Schaufele and Kiersten Hilton, who return from injury and should suit up for Calgary this weekend to give Shawnee Harle a full bench for the first time in conference play this year.

Guards Jenna Kaye and Tamara Jarrett have carried the bulk of the scoring load for the Dinos so far this season with 14.2 and 14.0 per game, respectively – putting them 11th and 12th on the conference scoring leaderboard. Forward Alex Cole is also averaging in the double digits at 12.7, while Megan Lang is knocking on the door with her 9.5 points-per-game average. As a team the Dinos are shooting nearly 43 per cent on the year, second-best in the conference, and to this point Calgary is the top rebounding team in Canada West led by transfer forward Jessica Franz.

First up, Calgary faces the highest scoring team in the conference in Victoria, led by first-year head coach Rich Chambers. The Vikes are averaging exactly 80 points per game, led by Debbie Yeboah's 14.5 points per game. Jessica Refrew (12.0), Chelsea McMullen (11.3), and Cassandra Goodis (11.2) also average double digits for the Vikes, who spread out their offence effectively. The Vikes are disciplined with the basketball, turning it over less than 15 times per game – by far the best average in the conference.

The Thunderbirds, meanwhile, are ranked No. 2 in the nation and present another challenge for the Dinos. With their lone loss coming at No. 1 Regina by a 77-66 score, UBC has cruised through their other three games of the season with easy wins at home to Brandon and Trinity Western along with a tight 66-61 victory on the road against the Spartans.

UBC's Kristjana Young is the third-leading scorer in the conference at 17.3 points per game, while Zara Huntley (13.5) and Kristen Hughes (13.3) also crack the top 20 in Canada West. Alexandra Vieweg is a force on the glass with 8.3 rebounds per outing.

The Vikes will be back in the Jack Simpson Gym at least once more this season as they pay a visit for the annual Ranger Inspection Holiday Hoops tournament Dec. 28-30. The Dinos will also welcome the Toronto Varsity Blues and the Royal Military College Paladins to the three-day event. Conference play re-opens with a visit to Fraser Valley and Trinity Western Jan. 6-7, followed by a return home to take on Saskatchewan Jan. 13-14. And it all leads up to that big weekend in late March, when the Dinos host the 2012 CIS Women's Basketball Final 8 March 17-19.

-UC-