As far as the UNBC Timberwolves are concerned, 15 is more than enough.
It's time for them to end it.
The heavily-favoured Calgary Dinos will take a 15-game winning streak onto the court with them tonight in Calgary, where they begin a U Sports Canada West women's basketball best-of-three quarterfinal series against the T-wolves.
The Dinos finished the season with a 17-3 record and are the second-ranked team among the final-eight teams left in contention for the Canada West crown. Because of the league's unbalanced schedule, the T-wolves (11-9) did not play the Dinos this season, but they've seen enough game film to know they're in tough to pull off an upset.
"At this point we've got nothing to lose - it's amazing that we've gone this far and we've achieved our goals to this point and now we're just going to go for it and do our best," said UNBC fourth-year point guard Emily Holmes. "Whether the outcome goes our way or not, we're going to try to give Calgary a run for their money.
"I think that first game is going to be really crucial and if we can sneak a win out, and we definitely can, sometimes we're pretty unnstoppable. We're a great team and if we just stick to our strengths we'll be fine."
The T-wolves advanced to the quarterfinals after their first-ever playoff win - an 80-78 triumph over the Trinity Western Spartans in a single-game elimination playoff last week in Langley.
Maria Mongomo played a huge role in the playoff victory with 29 points and two steals, earning her the Canada West third-star-of-the-week award. Mongomo led the T-wolves in scoring this season, averaging 19.9 points per game, and she will have to excel again in Calgary for the T-wolves to have a chance.
They'll also lean heavily on Vasiliki Louka, the leading rebounder in the conference (12.7 per game) and second all-time in Canada West. She was right on her mark in the win over TWU, with 13 rebounds. Madison Landry, Alina Shakirova and Abby Gibb also came up big at crucial moments in the playoff win and more heroics will be expected of them this weekend.
"We just want to try our best and show the same discipline as we showed last game," said T-wolves head coach Sergey Shchepotkin. "We will try our best to win, that's why we are there. It's a big challenge for us but also we are so excited."
The Dinos, with their second-pace finish, drew a first-round playoff bye.
Erin McIntosh has been the most deadly shooter for Calgary in 2018-19, averaging 15.4 points in 20 regular-season games. She also leads the team in rebounds with a 6.8 average. She averaged two steals per game.
"They're an aggressive team, they're strong, but we're just going to have to do what we can," said the five-foot-four Holmes, probably the shortest point guard in the league. "They're all about six feet - everyone's taller than me - and they're all skilled and can shoot the ball, so they'll be good."
The Dinos won Canada West bronze last year and went on to win the consolation final in the U Sports championship in Regina.
The T-wolves are healthy going into tonight's game (5 p.m. start PT, Canada West TV). Game 2 will be played Saturday (5 p.m. PT) and Game 3, if necessary, would be played Sunday (noon PT).
