It might not have been pretty but it was effective.
The UNBC Timberwolves women’s basketball team improved to 4-9 on Friday night with a 70-48 victory over the Mount Royal Cougars.
After a bowling shoe ugly first half where the T-Wolves only came away with a 26-24 lead at recess despite both teams hitting a combined 16 field goals in the opening 20 minutes.
UNBC woke up in a big way after the break outscoring the Cougars 44-24 in the second half cruising to a convincing win at the Northern Sports Centre.
Vasiliki Louka led the way offensively with 17 points for the Timberwolves including a 7 for 15 showing on field goals.
The T-Wolves put up 70 points despite second year forward Maria Mongomo going 3 for 12 and picking up a modest 10 points.
The X-factor for the UNBC in the second half was the three point shooting of fifth year player Stacey Graham who was 50% from beyond the arch contributing a 15 point effort.
MYPGNOW caught up with Graham after the game and says their effectiveness as a unit of five allowed her to have a ton of open looks. “My teammates were doing really well getting the ball to me as I was open on the wings so it was good.”
UNBC’s approach in the paint against the much smaller Mount Royal squad in the second half not only led to points but increased opportunities from the free-throw line for some of the bigger players like Louka, Emily Asae, and Madison Landry.
UNBC is in a three-way tie for the 11th and 12th seeded playoff spots with the MacEwan and Lethbridge who also hold down identical 4-9 records.
The T-Wolves host the Cougars at 5pm on Saturday from the Northern Sports Centre.
On the men’s side, the Timberwolves were unable to erase a double-digit deficit in the second half falling short 78-64 to Mount Royal in the first half of a two game set.
The star of the game was fourth year Cougars forward Josh Ross who had 19 points, 15 defensive rebounds, and 6 assists.
Timberwolves Head Coach Todd Jordan says his unique skill set made life difficult for his team. “He’s an interesting guy because you watch him play and he scores his buckets and offensive rebounds different ways, sometimes he’ll stick a three or he’ll go at you in isolation. I think when we guarded him one on one we did a good job against him, I think he found a lot of stuff when he got into the post and did a good job with the other players.”
As for his team’s performance, Jordan believes it all comes down to execution. “Offensively we just have to stick some of our shots, no doubt about it we got some good looks from them and we just have to stay patient and together when we are going through those cold stretches. That is going to be a big focus heading into tomorrow (Saturday).”
Mount Royal Head Coach Marc Dobell says his team tries to grind it up inside at all costs. “Whether it is UNBC or anybody else we want to get that ball inside and get it to our posts, Brett Layton is a solid player for us as is Josh (Ross) and so we want to get both of those guys the ball close to the rim and play off their decision making.”
Layton was the leading scorer in the game with 20 points.
James Agyeman scored a team high 12 points for UNBC in the loss.
UNBC drops to 4-9 and is in 14th spot in the Canada West standings just one game out of the 12th and final playoff spot that is held by the 5-8 Brandon Bobcats.
The T-Wolves host Mount Royal on Saturday at 7pm.