Competitive basketball teams need experience and skill in the backcourt. The UNBC Timberwolves have added those qualities in the form of Abby Gibb.
Gibb, a five-foot-eight point guard who hails from Calgary, has committed to the UNBC women's team for the 2017-18 Canada West season. She'll be in her fourth year of playing eligibility, having spent last season with the St. Mary's University Lightning of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference and two before that with Canada West's Mount Royal University Cougars. As a key member of the Calgary-based Lightning in 2016-17, she averaged 11.6 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per contest and 3.5 assists.
"Abby's court management will help us hugely," said UNBC head coach Sergey Shchepotkin. "She has experience at the Canada West level and she understands offensive movement and getting her teammates the ball in scoring position."
Gibb was looking for a good athletic and academic fit and found it at UNBC. She recently checked out the campus and was instantly comfortable with the surroundings.
"On my visit, I felt an immediate connection," she said. "Having access to a beautiful facility, with motivated coaches, trainers and teammates made my decision to attend UNBC much easier."
On the court, Gibb should make an immediate impact on a team that is coming off its first-ever Canada West playoff appearance.
"I hope to bring to the team my strong passion for basketball, my work ethic offensively and defensively and my decision-making as a point guard," she said. "My strong desire to compete brings out the best in my teammates, which is something I look to achieve every day."
Last season, the Timberwolves went 6-14, a mark that earned them the 12th and final playoff berth. In playoffs, they lost a first-round series to the UBC Thunderbirds. Gibb - who steps onto a roster that features all-star guard Maria Mongomo and dominating forward Vasiliki Louka - is happy to be joining a club on the upswing.
"Their determination to do more, and go further, is something I am beyond excited to be a part of," said Gibb, who helped the Lightning to the 2017 ACAC playoff championship game, which ended in a loss to the Lethbridge College Kodiaks, who eventually claimed the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national title.
Gibb, an Academic All-Canadian while she was at Calgary's Mount Royal, will continue as a health sciences student at UNBC.
"UNBC's smaller campus and class sizes, as well as their desire for each individual to succeed, really attracted me to the university," she said. "Everything seemed so accessible and supportive for every student."
