LANGLEY, British Columbia – The visiting Calgary Dinos scored the first seven points of the night and never trailed the rest of the way, en route to an 80-51 win over Trinity Western Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
Led by Kelsey Lund, who finished the game with 18 points, the Dinos (10-4) built a 38-24 halftime lead and maintained momentum throughout as they earned a convincing 29-point win.
The Dinos shot 56.9 per cent from the field while holding TWU (3-8) to just 36.2 per cent. The Dinos also had a 36-27 edge in rebounds.
Beyond Lund, Calgary's Kristie Sheils and Claire Colborne each added 11 points. Freya Szmidt and Anmol Mattu had five rebounds each to lead the Dinos.
The Spartans Kayla Gordon (Prince George, B.C.) had a team-leading 15 points and five boards while Tessa Ratzlaff (Abbotsford, B.C.) had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Dinos opened the game on a 7-0 run, but TWU rallied immediately and drew even 7-7 after a Jessie Brown (Langley) 3-pointer. However, the Dinos responded with an 11-2 run that put Calgary in the lead for good.
Up 24-14 after the first quarter, Calgary continued to push the pace in the second frame, opening up a 14-point lead at the break. Both Lund and Colborne had eight points in the first half for a Dinos team that shot 58.3 per cent from the field. TWU's Gordon led the Spartans with seven points while Ratzlaff added seven rebounds through the first 20 minutes.
The teams traded points throughout the third quarter, but once again it was the Dinos outscoring TWU, 20-18, to extend their advantage to 16 points, 58-42. Vanessa Wesolowski led Calgary with seven points in the third quarter.
With both teams' benches running the floor throughout much of the fourth quarter, the Dinos pushed its lead to 29 points by the end of the frame, outscoring TWU 23-8 over the last 10 minutes.
The teams will play the rematch Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.
Game Notes: After starting the season 3-3, the Spartans have now dropped five straight games…TWU had an 11-9 edge in steals…Calgary has won three straight against TWU, having also swept the season series last year, winning 95-72 and 73-55.
