CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women's basketball team defeated their crosstown rival Mount Royal, 70-60, in the Crowchild Classic Friday night at the Jack Simpson Gym.

The win gives the Dinos a 12-7 record, while the Cougars move to 11-8.

The Cougars came to pounce on the Dinos turf, which included not only scoring first, but fourth-year guard Maddison Hooper scoring back -to-back three-point field goals, ensuring her team reached double digits before Calgary could even get on the score board with a 12-0 lead right out of the gates.

However, Dinos fifth-year guard Bobbi-Jo Colburn was left open to make a picture-perfect three-pointer to finally get her team on the board, which started the Dino comeback, eventually leveling the score by the end of the first quarter at 19-19.

Clearly upset by the outcome of the first, the Cougars dominated the first few minutes of the second quarter, not letting the Dinos score until about two and a half minutes in.

But Calgary battled back, which included a clinical tic-tac-toe play where fifth-year guard Mackenzie Trpcic got the ball off a turnover who then sent a long pass to third year forward Mya Proctor who quickly set up Colburn who was trailing behind her and got the bucket. 

"Honestly, I'm just always looking for teammates when I get the ball and to make a good pass and get a good shot attempt off, so whoever gets open is who I'm looking for," Trpcic explained.

Nevertheless, the rest of the quarter saw a classic battle between two teams hungry for a win with the opponents going nearly point for point and ending the second just like the first, knotted up at 36-all. 

Switching the narrative, the Dinos scored first after halftime and did not let their opponent score until about three and a half minutes in.

The dominating Calgary offence included a calm, cool, and collected three-pointer from second-year guard Pollyanna Storie and a beautiful crossover by rookie guard Myriam Kone to get the layup. Their overall offensive playing allowed the Dinos to end the third quarter with a 17-point lead at 59-42..

The Cougars tried to pick away at the point difference in the fourth quarter, only able to shorten it to a 10-point difference before the Dinos eventually pulled away to secure the win. 

"It was a little bit of a scrappy game, but we pulled out with the W, and it's a pretty important win for us going into tomorrow," Trpcic said.

Colburn lead all players on the court in points with 19, including four triples, while Cougars Jamie Lalor had a team-high 17 points for Mount Royal. 

Both teams will face each other again in a rematch tomorrow at Jack Simpson Gym in what will serve as Senior Day for the Dinos. The game is set to start at 4 p.m.

-UC-