University basketball is back on the sports scene after a one-year pandemic pause and both UNBC teams found a winning groove in making their season debuts Friday night in Kamloops.
The Timberwolves women rode a 33-point, 10-rebound effort from sharpshooter Alina Skakirova to an 80-71 win over the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.
Svetlana Boykova, in her U SPORTS Canada West debut, set a UNBC team record with 22 rebounds, smashing the old mark of 20 set in 2019 by Vasiliki Louka.
The T-wolves led 47-39 at the half and 26 of those points came off the fingertips of Shakirova, whose 33-point total was just three shy of the UNBC single-game record of 36 shared by Shakirova and Madison Landry.
“It feels amazing,” Shakirova told UNBC sports information officer Rich Abney. “To play a game after so long off and start with a win. Hopefully it sets a mindset for the rest of the season. We can win games. That’s what we want to do.”
Rebecca Landry contributed 16 points to the T-wolves’ cause, while Boykova finished with 10 points.
Elana Sireni put up 15 points and had 13 rebounds to lead the WolfPack ,while Kelsey Cruz and Kyla Smith shot 13 and 11 points respectively.
In the men’s game Friday, a 69-67 nailbiter, the WolfPack set the pace early. They overcame a 52-46 deficit after three quarters with a 9-2 run to start the final quarter and had a 55-54 lead with three minutes left. UNBC missed 10 straight long-range shots before the offence sparked to life again and Tyrell Laing was the instigator down the stretch. The defending Canada West scoring champion from Prince George hit a jump shot and two free throws that put the T-wolves ahead by four with two minutes left.
The lead was down to two with 20 seconds left when UNBC turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation. TRU worked the ball down the court and with only a few seconds left, Asher Mayan sank a layup but failed to beat the shot clock and the basket did not count, sealing the T-wolves’ victory.
“We have said from the start of the year, if we aren’t shooting it well, we need to find ways to win games,” said Laing. “That may be defense, it might be getting to the line, just finding ways to withstand runs. We were able to show we can do that, even on those nights when it isn’t falling.
“That was a weird finish, but a gutsy defensive performance. Guys stepped up and rebounded it well all night. It was a rough shooting night for us, so we relied on the defensive intensity, and a real commitment, so it feels good to get the win.”
Laing shot a team-high 20 points and had three rebounds and fur assists. T-wolves sophomore Fareed Shittu sunk 18 points and had 12 rebounds, while Vova Pluzhnikov finished with eight points and eight rebounds. Mayan totaled 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the WolfPack, while Brad King finished with a 16-point, 10-rebound outing.
Both UNBC teams will be in Abbotsford to take on the Fraser Valley Cascades today. The women start at 5 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 7. The games will be webcast on Canada West TV.
