This could be a make-it-or-break-it weekend for the UNBC Timberwolves.
A pair of wins over the Manitoba Bisons tonight and Saturday in Winnipeg would go a long way to solidifying what is now a tenuous hold on a playoff position for the women's basketball team.
Coming off a pair of home-court wins two weeks ago against Mount Royal, the T-wolves (5-9) rank 11th in the 17-team U Sports Canada West conference standings, with six games left in the season.
The cellar-dwelling Bisons (1-13) have lost 10 straight and the T-wolves, who have won four of their past six, have to consider both games this weekend as must-wins to have any hope of making their first-ever appearance in the Canada West playoffs.
"It's really exciting, to be at the end of the year and playing games that mean something," said T-wolves guard Hannah Pudlas. "I think our mindset is preparation for playoffs. Every game counts. Running our offence well, playing hard defence, you're playing towards something."
All five UNBC victories this season have come on home turf and the Timberwolves have won five of their eight games at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre. Playing twice against the team with league's worst record, they won't get a better opportunity to celebrate on the road.
"We have a really good atmosphere at home, so bringing that energy and focus we have there is important," said Pudlas. "We have great fans at home. We will have to focus on staying together as a team, concentrating on the game plan, getting good rest and being ready."
Backed by the consistent efforts of second-year point guard Maria Mongomo and third-year forward Vasiliki Louka, the UNBC women are closing in on a positive point differential, averaging 67.1 points per game while allowing an average 69.4 points.
Mongomo has hit a team-leading 15.6 points per game (ninth in Canada West) and also has team-high averages in assists (3.1) and steals (2.8). The six-foot-three Louka is UNBC's top rebounder, hauling in 8.9 boards per game (fifth in Canada West) while averaging 14.7 points (13th).
Meanwhile, the UNBC men (4-10) are mired in a six-game losing streak which has dropped them out of a playoff position. The Bisons (8-6, sixth in Canada West) are heading in the opposite direction, winners of six straight league games.
Not blessed with an abundance of size, UNBC relies on its outside shooters. While seniors Rhys Elliott and Marcus MacKay have shown some consistency, as a group the T-wolves haven't been getting the job done. They have hit just 31.4 per cent of their three-point attempts and are 38.8 per cent effective from the field, as compared with the Bisons, who have been good on 46.6 per cent of their field goal attempts and 37.2 per cent from outside the circle.
"We need to push the ball and make our shots - we have been going through a funk, so hopefully we make those looks and we can have a game," said third-year T-wolves guard James Agyeman, who ranks second in the league while averaging 4.6 assists per game.
"The best thing to do is to get to the paint, get to the hoop, and get our guys some easy baskets. I'm just trying to stay aggressive, and hit the shooters. It's just a basketball game. We need to come out and play hard."
Four senior Bison guards - Justus Alleyn, Keith Omoerah, AJ Basi and Illarion Bonhomme - are averaging better than 12 points per game. Collectively, the team averages 86 points.
Both UNBC teams are back on the road next weekend in Vancouver against the UBC Thunderbirds, then host the Saskatchewan Huskies, Feb. 10-11 in a two-game set at the Northern Sport Centre.
In the women's division, the T-birds and Huskies teams stand fourth and fifth respectively in Canada West, each with 10-4 records. UBC (13-1) leads the men's league, while Saskatchewan (9-5) heads into the weekend ranked sixth.
