Ayla Grady co-led the Griffins with 10 points on Friday (Husain Dhooma photo).
Ayla Grady co-led the Griffins with 10 points on Friday (Husain Dhooma photo).
January 16, 2026

Impressive mid-game rally into the lead falls apart late as Griffins lose to Dinos

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Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Unfortunately, it just got away from them.

Leading midway through the third quarter, the MacEwan Griffins women's basketball team conceded a 34-6 run to the visiting Calgary Dinos over the final 14:59 and suffered a 67-41 defeat on Friday afternoon at the David Atkinson Gym.

In an impressive stretch from the second to third quarters, the Griffins fought back from a 19-8 first quarter deficit and grabbed a 35-33 lead over the Dinos in front of a large, boisterous crowd of youth on hand for the MacEwan Athletics department's annual School Day.

"Honestly, it was just super exciting because they are a high-ranked team," said guard Ayla Grady, who hit a three-pointer to tie the game 33-33 – a big moment for the winless Griffins against the Dinos, who are ranked seventh in the country. 

"We were just talking about this in the team room. When we work together we have such a better game. I think at the end of the second quarter, we were just sharing the ball and that's what led to the shots. Tying it up with them was super exciting, so for me it was 'we need to get a stop and get another shot in.' "

Unfortunately, their offence went cold and a wave of untimely turnovers led to the Dinos running away with it.

The next step in the Griffins' development will be to string four quarters of that kind of play together.

"We're in a five-point game going into the fourth quarter," said Griffins head coach Katherine Adams. "Amazing. That's where we want to be. How do we make sure we're still in a game in the last two minutes? 

"That's what we have to walk away from, watch film and try to take these lessons (to heart) so we can find ourselves in a different situation late in games."

With the result, the Griffins fall to 0-13 on the campaign, while Calgary improves to 11-2.

Pollyanna Storie had her fingerprints all over the victory for the Dinos as she scored 15 of her game-high 25 points in the second half. Christine Geraldo, meanwhile, dominated early for the Dinos with nine of her 13 points in first quarter, while Amelie Collin had 12 points, eight steals, six assists and five rebounds.

MacEwan was co-led in scoring by Grady and Samantha Hickey, who had 10 points apiece. Hickey also added six rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks.

"It was another great game for her," said Adams of Hickey, who leads Canada West in blocks. "I think we always expect her to be strong at the defensive end and she's growing the offensive piece of her game. I think she demonstrated that today. She's finding her teammates when they're open and we're capitalizing."

And it might have been Grady's best game as a Griffin.

"If not the best game she's played, it's certainly in the top three," said Adams. "I thought she brought really great energy today, I thought she was calm and composed, she hit shots, she took the right shots and defended well. That's really good to see from a second-year point guard."

Out of the contest, the Griffins certainly learned they can compete with anyone, but still have some growing to do.

"That people underestimate us," said Grady when asked for her takeaways out of pushing the Dinos for part of the game. "We may still be young, but we're still going up. There's so much potential. 

"Sometimes we get stuck. I felt in the second half we got stuck there and they were able to bounce back. We just need that next step to maintain our lead."

The Griffins will be looking to clean up the 34 turnovers they committed on Friday to give themselves a better chance in Saturday's rematch (3 p.m., David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).

"Calgary's a tough, tenacious team," said Adams. "We capitalized when we could, but in the fourth quarter, the wheels just fell off. We got a little bit flustered and ended up turning it over, leading to some easy buckets from them. 

"The final score paints a very different picture from what three quarters of the game actually looked like."