Playoffs are on the horizon. But, before the UNBC Northern Timberwolves basketball teams can start thinking about the chase for championship banners, they have to take care of some business on home court.
Tonight and Saturday at the Northern Sport Centre, the UNBC squads will tip off against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats in the final games of the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association regular season. Start times both nights are 6 for the women and 8 for the men.
The female Timberwolves will be looking to improve upon an 11-5 record. If they win both games, they have a chance to move from fourth to third in the league standings. For that to happen, the seventh-place Quest University Kermodes (7-9) must steal one win from the third-place UBC Okanagan Heat (11-5) this weekend.
The Bearcats, from Abbotsford, are winless in 16 games.
If the T-wolves remain in fourth place, they will take on the fifth-place finisher in the opening round of playoffs. If they move up to third, they will draw the sixth-place club in the first round. The top two teams - the Capilano University Blues and Vancouver Island University Mariners - have already clinched first-round byes in the playoffs.
On the men's side, the Timberwolves (14-2) are already locked into second place, which means they will receive a first-round playoff bye. As for the Bearcats, they have just one win in 16 outings.
VIU will finish in first place in the men's division. The Mariners, who stand at 16-1 and close out the season with a game tonight against the Camosun College Chargers, jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national rankings this week. The T-wolves, defending national champions, sit at No. 7.
The BCCAA playoffs start March 3 at Columbia. Nationals for the women are March 17-19 at Niagara College, located in Welland, Ont. Men's nationals, also March 17-19, will take place at Durham College in Oshawa, Ont. Each tournament will feature a host team, five league champions and two wildcard entries.
This weekend's contests will be the last home games in the careers of UNBC players Christine Kennedy, Sarah Moxley, Inderbir Gill and Matt Mills. All are in their fifth and final years of eligibility.
n On Thursday, Gill was named the men's basketball athlete of the week in the BCCAA. The recognition came after he led the Timberwolves to an 87-78 road win last Saturday against the Kelowna-based Heat. In the game, Gill had 26 points in 31 minutes of playing time. Along the way, the veteran guard hit nine of 10 free throw attempts and was also a leader on defence.
The athlete of the week in women's basketball was Prince George product Chelsea McMullen, who plays for Victoria's Camosun College. Last weekend, in two wins against Langara College, she scored a total of 37 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.
