Championships Women’s Final 8

Women’s Basketball

Dinos down host Capers to advance to consolation final

U SPORTS Staff

SYDNEY, N.S. (U SPORTS) - Pollyanna Storie scored a team-high 20 points to lead the No. 5 seed Calgary Dinos to an 87-61 win over the hosts and No. 8 Cape Breton Capers in the second consolation semifinal of the 2023 Protocase Women’s Final 8, presented by Bell, at the Sullivan Field House in Sydney on Friday night. Storie drained six of eight three pointers, setting up the Dinos for a matchup with Acadia in the consolation final.

This game looked to be headed out of reach early on when the Dinos jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first and did not seem to be slowing down. The Capers rallied on the backs of their stars, and Calgary led by a mere two points after the first period. The Capers tied the game at the two-minute mark of the second quarter, but that would mark the last time the game was tied. The Dinos scored 12 straight on the way to a 42-30 lead at the half.

Turnovers were the story of this game, and the Capers had 17 after the third quarter. Calgary looked to be coasting as they extended their lead to as many as 27 points in the quarter. However, the Capers fought back, cutting the lead to 15, but faced an uphill battle, down 65-48 going into the final ten minutes. The Dinos kept Cape Breton at arm’s length in the fourth and went on to win by a final score of 87-61.

Pollyanna Storie was Calgary’s player of the game and finished the night with 20 points on 58 per cent shooting. Mya Proctor was not far behind with 18 points on 9-for-11 shooting, adding three assists. Annacy Palmer contributed 15 points and five rebounds for the Dinos.

Cape Breton had three players score double digits on the night. U SPORTS second-team All-Canadian Kiyara Letlow led the way with a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Chermensa Van la Par scored 17 and was awarded player of the game. Mackenzee Ryan chipped in with 15 points for the Capers.

With the win, the Dinos advance to Sunday’s consolation final, where they will face the Acadia Axewomen. Tip-off for that game is set for noon (Atlantic). Cape Breton’s 2022-23 season is over after Friday night’s loss. All games at the championship can be seen on CBC Sports digital platforms (English) and at usports.ca (French).