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T-wolves open season Friday |
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Written by Jason Peters
Citizen staff
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Wednesday, 04 November 2009 |
In the past two regular seasons, they won a combined 25 games and lost just nine. In the provincial playoffs, they claimed gold in 2008 and silver in 2009.
The quest for ongoing success starts all over again Friday night in Vancouver, when the UNBC Northern Timberwolves tip off against the Langara College Falcons in B.C. Colleges Athletic Association women’s basketball.
The 2009-10 version of the Timberwolves is a mix of talented veterans and promising youngsters. And, even though new faces have replaced more familiar ones of the past, the objective remains the same.
“We always are focusing on March,” said fifth-year post player Soili Smith. “We expect that we are always playing intensely and always working hard. If you’re always playing intense and always playing hard, you’re going to win. Our goal is to win provincials and go to nationals, but our expectation is to always compete.”
After the Timberwolves defeated the Camsoun College Chargers in the 2008 provincial final at the Northern Sport Centre, they traveled to Nova Scotia for nationals and posted a 1-2 record. Last year, the T-wolves missed out on nationals after they lost to the Chargers in the B.C. championship game.
Gone from those UNBC teams are guard Jaclyn Nazareno and forward Laurel Wallace, who finished their five-year careers as the top two scorers respectively in the history of the UNBC women’s basketball program.
While Nazareno and Wallace will be missed, UNBC head coach Loralyn Murdoch still has an abundance of skill at her disposal. Perhaps the most important new recruit is Christine Kennedy, a College Heights secondary school graduate who brings three years of Canadian Interuniversity Sport experience to the UNBC backcourt. Kennedy, a fiery point guard, is a terrific shooter and distributor of the ball. And, defensively, she goes full-out every minute she’s on the court.
“She’s very aggressive and very intense all the time,” Smith said of Kennedy, who stands just five-foot-four. “Her heart’s in it all the time and she inspires the rest of us to be the same.”
Other newcomers this season include local rookies Mercedes Van Koughnett and Emily Kaehn, who will fill guard and forward positions. Also new to the team are Prince George’s Chelsey Thorne -- a second-year guard who played for Grande Prairie Regional College last season -- and the freshmen trio of Jennifer Bruce, Jennifer Marsh and Rebeckah Gaukel.
The other vets are Kady Dandeneau, Jennifer Clyne, Erin Beckett and Maria Neumann.
Dandeneau, who has the perfect mix of power and talent, missed the pre-season because of a foot stress fracture. She, did, however, squeeze in some practice time in the past couple weeks and should be game-ready sooner rather than later.
“We may have her, we may not,” Murdoch said in reference
to Dandeneau’s availability for Friday’s season-opener against the Falcons.
During pre-season, the Timberwolves beat the Falcons in the lone meeting between the teams.
“We know what to look for,” said Murdoch, noting that the Falcons are smaller in the post than the T-wolves. “We’re going to go in there as prepared as we can be for the first games of the year, with being a very young team. (The Falcons) are always tough. They’re well-coached, they’re going to work hard, but I think if we do our job we’ll be happy with the end result.”
UNBC and Langara will also meet on Saturday night.
The T-wolves will play the first five games of their 18-game schedule on the road. Their first home action isn’t until Nov. 27 against Quest University.
This year’s provincial tournament is being hosted by Nanaimo’s Vancouver Island University. Nationals will unfold at UBC Okanagan in Kelowna.
In the first set of national rankings, released Tuesday, VIU (No. 5) and UBC-O (No. 7) both made the 15-team list. North Vancouver’s Capilano University came in at No. 13.
The top-ranked team to start the season is Sainte-Foy, the two-time defending national champion.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 November 2009 )
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