Don't let their 8-0 preseason record fool you.
It doesn't count in the standings but what happens in the U Sports exhibition season does indeed have a carryover effect into the regular season and the UNBC Timberwolves are living proof of that. Their winning ways the past month have left them brimming with confidence as they head into the 2018-19 regular season tonight in Calgary against the Mount Royal Cougars.
The T-wolves went on an eastern swing for preseason challenges in Ontario a few weeks ago and reeled off wins over the Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo and the Western Mustangs in London. UNBC also beat UVic twice and finished the exhibition season last week, beating Thompson Rivers and UBC-Okanagan (twice).
"They were able to compete with really good teams, they beat Victoria twice, which never happened before, and they beat Western, all very tight games and I'm happy with how they played," said T-wolves head coach Sergey Shchepotkin. "The girls showed their character and didn't give up. They fought to the end and that was nice to see."
Shchepotkin says the T-wolves are gaining a reputation as a tough team to play and the proof was in the number of invitations the team received to play in out-of-town preseason tournaments. Backed by their preseason record, they have to be considered one of the teams to beat in Canada West.
"All the big schools wanted us to play in tournaments, which is a good sign," he said.
"All teams takes us really serious, which is good."
UNBC's world revolves around six-foot-four post Vasiliki Louka, speedy guard Maria Mongomo and third-year homegrown forward Madison Landry. Louka turned in a spectacular season leading the T-wolves into the playoffs for the second-straight season. The native of Athens, Greece averaged 18.2 points (fourth in the conference) 12.2 rebounds (second in Canada West, fifth in the country) and was named to the Canada West second all-star team.
Mongomo was hampered by a knee injury last year but still managed 18.1 points per game (fifth in Canada West) and was good for 8.3 rebounds each night. She's one of the quickest guards in Canada and led the T-wolves in steals, averaging 3.1 per game.
"Maria and Vasiliki are more mature and they're team players this year, they play for their teammates, and you can see with their experience their games just get better," said Shchepotkin.
Landry, a Duchess Park secondary school graduate about to begin her third season, emerged as a dependable shooter last year, averaging 14.7 points. Emily Holmes, a fourth-year Duchess Park product, has answered the call of duty as the starting point guard and gives the T-wolves another accurate weapon from three-point range. Shooting guard Abby Gibb, who started her U Spots career at Mount Royal, is back for a second season at UNBC, now in her fifth year of eligibility.
"Right now we have a good mix of experienced players and new players and it works pretty well," said Shchepotkin, who will have help from assistant coaches Dave and Louise Holmes and Jami Guenther.
One of the new players to watch is Julia Gallant a third-year guard who played the past two seasons in the PacWest Athletic Association for the now-defunct Squamish-based Quest University Kermodes. The native of Victoria averaged 8.3 points in 17 games last season with the Kermodes.
The T-wolves have four international students on the roster, including Louka, Mongomo, second-year guard Alina Shakirova of Moscow, Russia, and rookie guard Sierra Gallego, a native of Avondale, Ariz.
Alexis Magrath, a forward who played her high school career with the D.P. Todd Trojans, and guard Kyla Giesbrecht, a former Cedars Christian Eagle, provide local content as Canada West sophomores.
The other first-year recruits, all guards, are Lucy Guan of Vancouver (Britannia), Devon Wood of North Vancouver (Windsor) and six-foot Cevanna Carlson of Turner Valley, Alta. (Foothills Composite).
Last season the T-wolves finished 9-11 and made it into the postseason as a 10th-place team and lost a first-round single-elimination game to the Winnipeg Wesmen 82-65. They'll be back on their home court next weekend to play the Wesmen in a two-game series at the Northern Sport Centre.
