The UNBC Timberwolves women’s basketball team seems to have developed a knack for exceeding early-season expectations and proving to be snarly opponents come playoff time.
Despite the unlevel playing field of being a small university competing against the giants of Canada West, schools that draw their varsity athletic talent from five-digit student populations, the T-wolves have gotten into the habit of being a playoff team.
Under the guidance of head coach Sergey Shchepotkin, the T-wolves established that postseason pattern five years ago when they made the playoffs for the first time since joining the league in 2012.
In each of the past three seasons they’ve advanced to the second round. That’s remarkable consistency, considering UNBC has only 2,800 full-time students and as the second-smallest U SPORTS university.
“We’re competing against schools that have upwards of 50,000 full-time students and to do what we’re doing says a lot about the coaching staff and their ability to recruit and retain players,” said UNBC athletics and recreation director Loralyn Murdoch. “The quality of players we’re getting is now producing repeat playoff appearances and second-round playoff appearances.”
“The young players have such amazing role models to watch and mentor under. The learning curve is going to be and they’ll take it on the chin but, but I think overall you’re going to see some huge improvements as the days go by.”
The new season starts Friday (6 p.m.) at the Northern Sport Centre, where the T-wolves open their 18-game schedule against the Trinity Western Spartans. The Canada West pre-season coaches’ poll has the T-wolves ranked 13th, and if that holds true their playoff string for UNBC will come to an end in 2022-23 because only the top-12 make it.
Based on their history as overachievers, don’t be too surprised if T-wolves find a way to make the playoff cut again next March.
The T-wolves have a 1-2 punch any Canada West team would love to have with returning veterans Alina Skakirova and Svetlana Boykova. Skakirova came back from a torn ACL to finish second in Canada West scoring, averaging 18.5 points, while Boykova also recovered from a wonky knee to carve out her niche as the top rebounder in the conference. She averaged a league-high 12.1 boards per game in her first U SPORTS season and like Shakirova she proved durability as a starter in all 18 games.
“Alina played consistent all this -pre-season and hopefully she will stay on that level,” said Shchepotkin.
Up front, Laura Garmendia Garcia stands six-foot-one and nobody was more accurate from the field in 2021-22. She shot 55.8 per cent (63 for 113) and the T-wolves will need her ability to find that net to be competitive this season. Forward Cevanna Carlson has the green light to play her third Canada West season after her personal choice to not get COVID vaccinations forced her to miss last season and that give the T-wolves another experienced six-footer on the court. Nobody played in the cancelled pandemic season of 2020-21 Shchepotkin says it will take time for Carlson to find her shooting touch after two seasons away from the court.
Fifth-year post Olivia Wilson played four years in her native Ontario for the McMaster Marauders and helped them win the U SPORTS national championship in 2019. She came to UNBC this fall to compete masters studies which make her unavailable to the team for some their away games. But her championship pedigree should provide a boost in the games in which she’s wearing the green and gold. Wilson just started working out with the T-wolves in mid-September.
The T-wolves played some top-10 teams and went 2-6 in the pre-season. They visited Regina, Saskatchewan and Lethbridge (all losses), then took a trip to Waterloo, Ont., where they beat Concordia after losing to Waterloo and Guelph. They split on their Alberta trip , defeating MacEwan after a loss to Alberta.
“This year we’ve had a lot of injuries in the last month and a half and it was difficult to get all of them on the court but I believe now it’s a little better
Sarah Kuklisin will start the season at point guard and second-year guard Jenna Korolek has a chance to become an everyday starter. Hanna Busic and Adaiah Tupas-Singh saw only limited action in the six games they each played coming off the bench last year and will be vying for more court time.
Guard/forward Amrit Manak of Toronto joins the T-wolves for her rookie U SPORTS season and forward Nyemunon Padhal is showing promise coming out of the high school ranks in Brooks, Alta. Bella Mesquita of Calgary is also a first-year T-wolf.
UNBC had success last year using their speed as a weapon but they aren’t as fast as they used to be now that guard Anastasia Soltes has returned home and is red-shirting this season at the University of Calgary, while shooting guard Rebecca Landry is out for at least the first half of the season with an unspecified injury. They’ll also have to play a waiting game for College Heights Secondary School grad Sophia Fuller, while she recovers from a knee injury.
Forward Bella Mesquita is considered a freshman but this is her third season in the T-wolves’ camp. Her doctor has given her approval to play after two years of dealing with a blood disorder.
“We’ve become slower and we are trying to manage how we can change the picture of our game,” said Shchepotkin. “We get (fewer) points from our transition now so we need to compensate. (Anna and Rebecca) are very fast and that’s how we ran our fast break and transition. Now we need to change our game a little bit and we’re still searching how we can do that.”
UNBC Timberwolves
(from canadawest.org)
2021 CW regular season record: 8-10, 4th in West Division
2021 post-season record: 1-1, Lost in Quarterfinal
Head Coach: Sergey Shchepotkin, 9th season / 56-102
Last CW championship / total CW championships: none
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: none
2021 CW regular season ranks:
Offence: 69.6 PPG, 7th
Defence: 70.9 PPG, 13th
2021 CW regular season leaders (returning):
Points/game: 18.5 – Alina Shakirova, F
Assists: 2.8 – Alina Shakirova, F
Blocks: 0.3 – Sveta Boykova, F
Rebounds/game: 12.1 – Sveta Boykova, F
3-PT percentage: 37.5 – Sarah Kuklisin, G
Key additions (name / position / eligibility / hometown / last team):
Amrit Manak / G / 1 / Toronto, ON / Mississauga Monarchs
Olivia Wilson / F / 5 / Oakville, ON / McMaster Marauders
Key losses (name / position / hometown / years with program):
Emma vanBruinessen / F / Leduc, AB / 3
Anastasia Soltes / G / Calgary, AB / 3
Lucy Guan / G / Vancouver, BC / 5
Key performer
Alina Shakirova
F/5/Moscow, RU
2021 stats: (18.5 PPG/ 2.8 APG/0.1 BLKS/ 1.9 SPG / 6.7 RPG/31.3 3PT%)
