Relentless Dino defence too much for Bobcats

The Calgary Dinos showcased where the Brandon University Bobcats want to be one day, while the hosts displayed how far they’ve come in less than two years.

The team that came to the Healthy Living Centre and thrashed the Bobcats (3-2) by a combined 139 points in two games last year won their Canada West game 98-67 on Friday. But it was anyone’s game with just 15 minutes to go before the Dinos (3-0) pulled away.

“They know we can struggle under pressure when we’re not composed, so I think they did a really good job of pressuring our guards, getting in our bigs’ space and trying to take away those options, jumping at passes,” said BU import Ella Averill, who posted 13 points and eight assists. “We just need to stick together. Obviously, we know we can do it. At one point, we were down by two and we came back from down by 20 so we just know we really need to lock in, play with our structure, listen to our coaches and we’ll be fine.”

The Dinos opened the game with a quick 7-0 run before the Bobcats realized what hit them.

Macaya Copeland got them on the board two minutes in with a pull-up jumper.

BU hit a few layups and Copeland knocked down a few more tough shots for nine in the quarter, but the team otherwise struggled to find any space against a tenacious, handsy Calgary defence that forced eight turnovers.

On the other end, the visitors sucked the Bobcats’ defence in and created plenty of open looks from three-point range, hitting seven of 11 to pull ahead 34-18 through 10 minutes.

Brandon upped the tempo and got way more aggressive on offence in the second quarter. It worked, to the tune of a 10-point run to make it 41-38 six minutes into the frame.

Copeland and Ella Averill’s tough drives spread the floor for Piper Ingalls to get open looks from deep. All three scored double-digits in the first half.

Raya Hafez provided some much-needed responses for Calgary, though, hitting four of five treys to keep a 54-45 lead at halftime.

“Definitely more aggression getting into the paint, just trying to use all of our offensive threats,” Averill said of her team’s adjustments. “When we’re all firing, it’s pretty hard for them to choose who to defend.”

It may have been wise for U of C to say “someone other than Copeland is beating us,” but the BU guard found enough space to score a quick five points to help BU keep pace in a back-and-forth third quarter.

But at some point, the Bobcats became a little too predictable and the Dinos’ defence figured them out.

BU was within six points of tying it but barely scored for the back half of the frame as Calgary opened up a 74-56 advantage heading into the fourth.

It was all Dinos down the stretch, as they stretched the lead as big as 34 and were able to cruise to their third straight win.

Copeland finished with a game-high 24 points while Amelie Collin led Calgary with 22 points, six assists and seven steals.

Calgary’s physicality ultimately got the best of Brandon as its defence made 17 steals and forced 29 turnovers while the Bobcats only made three steals on the Dinos’ 12 turnovers.

Averill isn’t backing away from that intense style of game when the teams meet again today at 5 p.m.

“I love it. I love it when it’s a physical game, especially being an undersized forward. I love when I start getting hit,” Averill said.

“I think we all need to be more aggressive boxing out, and if they’re punching us, punch ‘em back.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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