Male or female, it doesn't matter.
The UNBC Timberwolves are walking into a tough neighbourhood this weekend.
The Calgary Dinos are formidable basketball opponents and none of their Canada West Conference have figured out how to get the better of them.
The T-wolves return to the court Friday in Calgary in the first of back-to-back games against the Dinos - their first meaningful games in six weeks.
Ranked No. 2 in Canada, the Calgary women are off to an 8-0 start, tied with Saskatchewan atop the league standings, while the Dinos men's team, ranked No. 3 in U Sports, also sits at 8-0, second only to the 9-1 Alberta Golden Bears.
"Calgary is a very strong program and they are nationally ranked for a reason," said T-wolves guard Lucy Guan, in a team release. "They are a deep team, and have a lot of size, athleticism, and length. They play really intelligently, and they're also a very good three-point shooting team.
"In order to be successful against the Dinos, we have to focus on staying organized under their defensive pressure, and run our offensive sets. We have to lock in on their shooters, and having ball pressure on defense is a big part of that."
The UNBC women (3-5) last played Nov. 23 in Kamloops, an 87-77 triumph over the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.
"The first half of the season didn't go as well as we planned, but I think that we can learn from it, and improve on the second half of our season," said Guan. "We have a lot of games left to play, and it's important that we stay locked in."
The T-wolves men (4-4) are coming off an 82-77 loss Nov. 23 to TRU. They did venture south to California for three exhibition games against junior college teams and lost all three. None of those teams match the calibre they expect to see this weekend from the Dinos in Calgary.
"Calgary is extremely talented and skilled," said T-wolves guard Colburn Pearce. "They run their systems very well and aren't easily rushed into taking bad shots. Defensively, they are very disciplined about executing their plan, and are relentless in their approach.
"We have to have patience, and make sure to work through our offence to get good shots for ourselves. We need to focus on not falling backwards, and keep pushing forward as we look to build on the first half of the year."
Both T-wolves teams have 10 games left. They return to their home court at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre next weekend, Jan. 10-11, for games against Fraser Valley Cascades.
