SYDNEY, N.S. – Four players scored in double figures as the Calgary Dinos women's basketball team led from start to finish in an 87-61 rout of host Cape Breton Friday night in front of a frenzied crowd inside Sullivan Field House in the U SPORTS consolation semifinals.
The Dinos will now advance to the national consolation final, scheduled for a 9 a.m. MT tipoff Sunday.
"We're really pleased to get the win and the manner in which we did it," Calgary head coach Damian Jennings said. "It was a complete team effort, both on and off the court. What challenging adversity to lose by a bucket the night before and then turn around a scout – the assistant coaches were wonderful in getting us prepared today – and then ultimately we all committed to the idea that we want to win here at a national championship, we don't just want to be here. I'm just super proud."
Calgary came out of the gates on fire, as Annacy Palmer and Pollyanna Storie each drilled a three-pointer on the first two possessions of the game. The Dinos led by as many as seven early and finished the first with a 20-18 lead.
It was back and forth to start to the second. Madison Landry hit a three-pointer to give Calgary a 25-22 lead, only to see MacKenzee Ryan answer with a triple of her own on the other end to knot things back up. It was all Dinos from there until halftime as Storie connected on back-to-back threes to spark a 14-1 run to put the Scarlet & Gold up 39-26 with 2:39 left and finishing the first half up 42-30.
The hot shooting continued into the second half as the Dinos scored 17 of the first 20 points after intermission to balloon their lead to 59-33 after a jumper by Bobbi-Jo Colburn with 5:13 left in the third. CBU would chisel away at Calgary's massive lead to make it 65-48 after three.
Ryan started the fourth with a layup to cut the gap to 15, but the Capers would get no closer the rest of the way. A jumper by Palmer made it a 20-point game again at 76-56 and four straight points by Amélie Collin stretched the lead to 85-59. Elina Siceva closed out the scoring on the night for Calgary.
Storie finished with a team-high 20 points in the win for the Dinos, connecting on a career-high six three-pointers.
"Yeah, I shot well tonight, but my teammates got me open," Storie said of her hot shooting performance. "We're a team. Tonight, was my night, but tomorrow it could be someone else's and the day after it will be someone else again. It's just the type of team we are. We're happy about the win."
Mya Proctor was incredibly efficient on the night and finished 9-of-11 from the floor for 18 points. Palmer added 15 points and five rebounds, while Collin stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, seven assists and five boards.
Mackenzie Trpcic also had a strong night, as the point guard finished with seven assists and five points.
Kiyara Letlow had a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds in the loss for the Capers. Chermensa Van la par added another 17 points, while Ryan finished the night with 15.
Calgary finished the night shooting 47.8 percent (33-69) on the night and held CBU to just 38.2 percent (21-55). The Dinos also finished with the edge in bench scoring (18-2), points in the paint (26-12) and points off turnovers (30-10).
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