If the UNBC Timberwoves are looking for a measuring stick to gauge how far they've progressed in the U Sports Canada West conference women's basketball pecking order, the Trinity Western Spartans are about to provide it.
The Spartans are 6-0 to begin the season and they'll try keep that perfect streak intact this weekend when they take on the also-unbeaten T-wolves (4-0) in a two-game test tonight and Saturday at the Northern Sport Centre.
Coming off a bye weekend the T-wolves are off to the best start in seven seasons as a university team. They started with a weekend sweep of Mount Royal University in Calgary, then won both at home against Winnipeg.
TWU opened at home with a pair of wins against UBC Okanagan, hit the road for two more wins in Regina, then ran the table at home last weekend against MRU.
The T-wolves have had two weeks to watch game film of the Spartans in action and UNBC guard Alina Shakirova knows why they've been so successful.
"Trinity is a very aggressive team," Shakirova told UNBC sports information officer Rich Abney. "They run fast breaks, and they rebound hard. They know how to play good defence, and they always try their best. We definitely need to stick to our plan, listen to coach (Sergey Shchepotkin), and need to give our best. We will need to be aggressive on rebounds, stop their shooters, and stop their post (Tessa Ratzlaff) from getting the points she usually does."
The UNBC women are in the top-five in four Canada West individual offensive statistics. Maria Mongomo and Vasiliki Louka rank 1-2 in points per game. Mongomo has averaged 23.5 points while Louka has set a 22.5-point pace. Louka also leads the league in rebounds per game (14.5), with Mongomo fifth (9.8). Madison Landry's 56.3 per cent field goal percentage is tops in Canada West, with Louka fifth (55.5 per cent). UNBC point guard Emily Holmes has hit 4-for-8 from the beyond the three-point line (50 per cent), third-best in the league.
The Spartans lean heavily of two-time Canada West all-star forward Ratzlaff, whose 105 points through six games (17.5 per game) is fifth-best in the conference. She also leads her team in rebounding (7.8 per game).
The women's game (6 p.m. start) will be followed by the men (8 p.m.) and that matchup is a much different story. The UNBC men (3-1) are also in uncharted territory, off to their best-ever start, facing a winless (0-6) Spartans team. UNBC is coming off a 96-81 loss to Winnipeg, Nov. 3, after three straight wins.
"We are happy, but we are never satisfied," said T-wolves forward Anthony Hokanson. "We look at our record and we think we could be even better than we are. Every weekend matters in Canada West. You slip up once, and that could be the difference between a playoff spot or not.
"We had a really tough, close game against them last year. The key this weekend is going to be getting on the glass. Trinity has some big boys, so we need to negate their size."
UNBC post Vaggelis Loukas is closing in on Billy Cheng's all-time steals record of 87 and is just one behind Cheng. He could also lay claim this weekend to the T-wolves career rebounds record. He's now just 10 behind Dennis Stark, who totaled 461 in his career.
Vartan Tanielian leads the Spartans with 107 points and is ninth in Canada West scoring, an average 17.8 per game. TWU guard Josiah Meppelik has averaged five assists per game.
