The UNBC Northern Timberwolves will be back in more familiar surroundings this weekend.
The local women's basketball team, fresh off a trip to Phoenix during the Christmas break, is hosting a four-team gathering at the Northern Sport Centre. Games will be held Friday and Saturday.
The Timberwolves, who went 1-2 against American competition at the Phoenix Cactus Jam, will welcome one league rival and two clubs from Alberta to the NSC. The North Vancouver-based Capilano University Blues will be here, and so will the Grant MacEwan University Griffins of Edmonton and the Mount Royal University Cougars of Calgary.
The T-wolves will face the Griffins Friday at 8 p.m. and will tip off against the Cougars Saturday at 4 p.m.
"MacEwan and Mount Royal are both very strong teams in Alberta," said UNBC athletics director Jason Kerswill. "To play against two ACAC teams at this time of year is a great opportunity and should get us focused for the second half of the year."
The Timberwolves, with a record of 4-3, currently sit third in the 10-team B.C. Colleges Athletic Association and are ranked 14th in the country. The Griffins, 15th nationally, boast a 7-3 record in the ACAC North Division and the unranked Cougars are 8-2 in the ACAC South Division.
The Timberwolves will have to be sharp to knock off the Griffins and Cougars, and they'll have the added challenge of playing without their leader, All-Canadian point guard Christine Kennedy. She strained a calf muscle during the Cactus Jam and won't be ready for game action until the T-wolves resume their regular season, Jan 14-15 at Quest University in Squamish.
"The girls are really going to have to pull together and play as a team (this weekend)," Kerswill said.
In other games at the NSC, Capilano and Mount Royal will square off Friday at 6 p.m., and Capilano and MacEwan will do battle Saturday at 2 p.m.
Capilano (7-0) is currently the top team in the BCCAA and is ranked third in Canada.
At the Cactus Jam, the Timberwolves lost 64-62 to Phoenix College, beat South Mountain Community College 72-50 and fell 71-52 to Yavapai Community College.
