CALGARY - The University of Calgary Dinos take on the Brandon Bobcats in their home-opening series at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium, with the women looking for their first wins of the season and the men hoping to stay undefeated. 
 
The women opened their season last week against the Winnipeg Wesmen, dropping the series by scores of 63-49 and 71-57. Calgary got off to a shaky start in both games, scoring just eight points in the first quarter of the first loss and nine in the second. The Dinos also had trouble holding onto the ball, committing 30 turnovers in each game. One area where they've impressed so far is on the boards, where they are third in Canada West in rebounds through the first weekend of play. Leading the way offensively so far are sophomores Brianna Ghali and new recruit Kelsey Lund, both averaging ten points per game. 
 
Coming into the gym is a team that also dropped its first two games last weekend in the Bobcats. Brandon lost to Lethbridge by scores of 74-62 and 72-53, which bodes well for the Dinos who defeated the Pronghorns in the preseason 59-32. Despite going just 6-16 last year, the Bobcats are coming off one of its most successful seasons in 30 years, breaking a three-year conference winless streak and nearly upsetting the Dinos last November. In the first of two games last season, Calgary avoided the upset by defeating Brandon 66-64 at home, before beating them convincingly the next night by a score of 73-53. However a big reason for their success, last year's leading scorer in the conference Cassie Cooke, has left to play professionally. 
 
On the men's side, after starting last season 0-4, the Dinos have the chance to flip that record after winning their first two games last weekend against the Wesmen. Calgary won the first 77-64 and held on for the 87-82 victory in the second game last weekend. In the first victory, Calgary shot the ball incredibly well, shooting 55 per cent for the game and hitting 11 of 12 free throws. Then in the second match, they shot 54 per cent and were up 20 points going into the fourth quarter. Winnipeg made a furious comeback and eventually cut the lead to 83-82, but the Dinos managed to come out with the victory. Offensively, the Dinos are led by fifth-year seniors Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, averaging 16.5 points per game, and Phil Barndt right behind at 16. 
 
Like its women's team, the Brandon men also dropped their first two games last weekend to Lethbridge, by scores of 85-82 and 84-66. In the thrilling opener, the Bobcats jumped out to a big lead, but the Pronghorns made it a one-point game at the end of the first and it stayed close until the very end when the road team sunk key free throws to win the game. The second game was tied at halftime, but then Lethbridge took over outscoring their opponents 45-27. The men's team also went 6-16 last year, with one of those wins coming at the expense of the Dinos. In their series last November, Calgary won 89-77 in their first match-up, but fell the next night 65-61. 
 
Game times on Friday are 6 p.m. for the women and 8 p.m. for the men, while on Saturday the action starts an hour early with the first game at 5 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m., all from the Jack Simpson Gymnasium. You can also watch live on canadawest.tv.