SYDNEY — It’s Sunday afternoon’s U Sports Final 8 consolation finals. The Acadia Axewomen are up by two and the Calgary Dinos are set to inbound the ball from the team’s baseline. They have five seconds to get the ball up the court and take a shot.
Calgary inbounds the ball to guard Bobbi-Jo Colburn, who’s scored 16 points for the Dinos so far. As she sprints down the court, she seems unlikely to reach the basket for a clean layup.
But Colburn rejects that idea. Instead, she picks up her dribble at the elbow, stopping on a dime. As she shoots the game-tying shot, silence fills the Sullivan House.
She misses.
The Acadia bench leaps to their feet and celebrates the win. The Nova Scotia fans join the celebrations and applaud the team for their performance. Acadia walks away with its final win of the tournament.
For Calgary, this type of defeat has become familiar.
The Dinos lost their quarterfinal game to the Saint Mary’s Huskies by two points. It was a close matchup that ended in a heartbreaking defeat, similar to Sunday’s game.
Calgary started the consolation final on the front foot, leading 19-11 at the end of the first quarter. But Acadia’s second-quarter display was the most dominant of the game, as the team outscored the Dinos 26-15.
It was a strong collective performance from the Axewomen. Sandy Saunders, Haley McDonald, Elizabeth Iseyemi and Bianca Helmig contributed over 12 points each. Iseyemi also had nine rebounds and seven assists, while Saunders’ 19 points came from an efficient 66 per cent from the field.
While Calgary may be disappointed with the result, the team will likely be happy with the performance, especially from guard Mackenzie Trpcic, who had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Beautiful dime from Mackenzie Trpcic to Madison Landry who finished the and-one, putting the Dinos up by 5. pic.twitter.com/KAE27kk7nL
— Jayden R. Dill (@JaydenDill) March 12, 2023
But Trpcic offered more than the stat sheet shows.
As the primary ball carrier, her combination of no-look and defender-splitting bounce passes, coupled with her ball retention, made it difficult for defenders to know what she might do with the ball.
She also showcased her leadership when she drew up a spontaneous play in the third quarter.
Trpcic told her teammate to drift from the low post to the left corner. She then head-nodded to Louise Rouse in the high post, signaling her to cut towards the net. When Trpcic drove towards the left elbow, the three surrounding defenders collapsed on her and the cutting Rouse was left wide open in the lane. Trpcic then threaded a pass to Rouse, who finished at the net.
Whether that was a set play—created by the coaching staff and worked on in practice—or a spontaneous idea from Trpcic, the guard recognized the opportunity and instructed her teammates to follow suit. It goes to show her high level of basketball intelligence.
While Trpcic’s playmaking ability was on display all throughout the game, she faltered when it came down to the last seconds in the final quarter. Before the last play, Trpcic had a chance to get the go-ahead basket but was blocked at the net.
She was close, but not close enough.
Featured image by Jayden R. Dill.
