It was an upset of epic proportions.
The UNBC Timberwolves women’s basketball stormed back from a 79-71 fourth quarter deficit to beat the University of Regina Cougars 81-79 on Saturday from the Northern Sports Centre, who came into the game as the top-ranked team in Canada.
Maria Mongomo recorded a game-high 33 points, just a week after putting up a similar performance against the UBC Thunderbirds.
“Yesterday (Friday), we were slow and didn’t play good defence, mainly because Regina is number one in the country and we might have thought that they were so good the night before but then I asked them to show the same energy like they did against UBC and when they do it that we look very good,” says Sergey Shchepotkin, Timberwolves Head Coach.
Despite playing a strong first half, UNBC found themselves trailing 46-35 at half-time before turning the game around by outscoring Regina 22-8 in the third quarter.
“It was important to have that break just to tell them they were in the game and to believe in themselves and to take it. We showed them that we are good and things got even better,” added Shchepotkin.
Even though Regina came into the weekend as an undefeated club, Cougars bench boss Dave Taylor’s worst fears came to light during the second half.
“This is what I warned my team about all week. They are a tough team at home, and we knew if we were in a close game with them, they could win it. They wanted it more down the stretch.”
Kyanna Giles recorded 19 points in a losing effort for the Cougars.
UNBC improves to 3-5 while Regina drops to 5-1.
@UNBCWomensBball wins a close battle against the @ReginaCougars by a score of 81-79!! #GoTwolves
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 19, 2017
In men’s action, the Timberwolves dropped another hotly-contested matchup against the Cougars 96-88.
Regina was led by Shaun Lathan and Shaquille Harris who had 18 points each.
James Agyeman led UNBC with 24 points as the T-Wolves drop to 2-6.
Cougars forward Brian Ofori was ejected from the game in third quarter following a skirmish involving two Timberwolf players.
A road trip awaits the Timberwolves as they head down to Edmonton next Friday and Saturday against MacEwan Griffins.