UNBC WBB record-setter Maria Mongomo named to Wall of Honour

One of the best women’s basketball players in recent memory to dawn the UNBC Timberwolves colors is now a member of their Wall of Honour.

Maria Mongomo’s name was circled on the opposing team’s whiteboard but that didn’t stop her from putting up monster numbers over her five seasons in green and gold.

Despite that, she went on to be the most electric scorer in the history of the green & gold, making her an obvious and deserving inductee into the Timberwolves Wall of Honour.

It all started in 2015 when she reached out to UNBC coach Sergey Shchepotkin expressing interest in taking her game from her home country of Spain to the Canada West Conference.

She then became a building block, alongside fellow international recruit Vasiliki Louka.

In her first year,  the young Timberwolves struggled to a 3-17 record, but Mongomo put everyone on notice with a stunning 17.5 points per game average, which was good for third in the conference, and tops among first-year players in all of Canada.

“You could tell from day one that Maria had the talent and potential to be a game-changer for the program,” said Louka, who would play four seasons with Mongomo. “She did just that. In her first year, she dominated the league, and everyone was talking about her unique talent to score the ball however she wanted to. For me, knowing she would be my teammate for years, was a blessing. I had a feeling we were going to do big things.”

At the conclusion of the season, Mongomo won UNBC Most Valuable Player, UNBC Rookie of the Year, UNBC Female Athlete of the Year, was named to the Canada West All-Rookie team, and became the first TWolf be recognized nationally at the CIS level, when she was tabbed to the country’s All-Rookie Team.

Mongomo continued to deliver in 2016-2017, teaming with Louka and new freshman Madison Landry to give Shchepotkin an experienced but dangerous big three to build around. UNBC would go 6-14, and squeeze into the conference playoffs for the first time in team history.

She averaged 16.1 points (8th in CW), 7.8 rebounds (10th) while adding 56 assists (11th) and 49 steals (10th).

In 2017-2018, Shchepotkin’s program took another step, topping some of the conference’s top teams and finishing 9-11 in the regular season, qualifying for the Canada West playoffs for the second consecutive season. Mongomo’s game would continue to develop, averaging 18.1 points per game, which was 4th in the conference and top ten in U SPORTS, to go along with 8.3 rebounds (9th in CW), 62 steals (3rd in CW, 4th in U SPORTS), and set a UNBC record with 46 three-pointers made.

“Maria helped me so much as a player, just having to guard her in practice,” said Madison Landry. “Sergey would tell me I needed to guard Maria, so I could better defend players in this league. But I was intimidated because she was so talented. She could shoot, she could drive, she could post up, she could do it all. I learned a lot from her, and I think every one of us learned a lot from her.”

Mongomo’s upward trajectory took another step in 2018-2019, when Spanish product was third in the conference scoring 19.9 points per game, good for seventh in all of U SPORTS.

The Timberwolves finished 11-9. In her third trip to the postseason, Mongomo broke out with a 29-point effort against the TWU Spartans to help UNBC to its first Canada West playoff victory.

Mongomo’s 398 points would set a new program single-season record, and she was rewarded with a Canada West Third Team All-Star nod, to go along with another UNBC Best Defensive Player Award.

Heading into her fifth and final season, Mongomo would reach new heights, despite unforeseen circumstances facing the TWolves. Midway through the 2019-2020 campaign, the Timberwolves roster was down to six players healthy enough to dress in a game. They would play the final eight game of the season with six players suited up, and an incredible burden would be put on their senior star.

Mongomo responded with a 20.1 points per game, earning the Canada West scoring crown, while becoming the first TWolf to score 400 points in a season. She would haul 9.9 rebounds per game, good for 6th in the conference, while leading Canada West with 67 steals – a UNBC single-season record. She would also record three consecutive 30-point games, a feat the conference has no record of ever happening in Women’s Basketball prior.

“That year, when he had six players, was very telling of Maria’s character. She stepped up for us when we needed it most,” said Landry of her long time running mate.

“She was always guarded by the toughest defenders. Teams would focus their scout in what they were going to do when she caught the ball. But she showed up, every time, because of her talented and her will to win.”

In the playoffs, the shorthanded TWolves beat the Lethbridge Pronghorns 93-85, in Lethbridge, in double overtime for a historic win. Mongomo would play 49 minutes, recording a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double. After the season, she would be named UNBC Most Valuable Player, UNBC Female Athlete of the Year, and a Canada West First Team All-Star.

Mongomo’s assault on the record books is notable at the university, and at a conference level. She concluded her career with 92 games played. She finished her Timberwolves career first in scoring with 1694 points, points per game with 18.4, field goals made with 602, three-pointers with 165, and steals with 258. She also finished second in rebounds with 774, and defensive rebounds with 552.

In the Canada West record books, she sits fourth in scoring, sixth in career scoring average, sixth in steals, eighth in defensive rebounds, 10th in field goals, and top-20 in rebounds and three-pointers. Her 36 double-doubles are sixth most in conference history.

After graduation, Mongomo returned to Europe, and has traveled the globe playing professionally. Her effects are still resonating in Northern BC, where she helped power a program from last place to a perennial playoff contender, putting up eye-popping, historic numbers in the process.

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