Huskies women’s basketball team aims for third national championship in Edmonton

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team is continuing its quest to the top of the U Sports mountain in Edmonton this weekend.

After dominating the Canada West championship in Abbotsford, B.C. two weekends ago and clinching a spot in the U Sports Final 8 tournament, the Huskies are now looking to win their third national championship in eight seasons.

After missing out on the tournament altogether last year, head coach Lisa Thomaidis said she’s excited her team will have a shot at redemption.

“The vibe is great coming off a Canada West championship,” she said.

“The team played really well at the Canada West championship and (we’re) just trying to carry on with the momentum we built there.”

The Huskies outscored their opponents 231-152 through three games en route to the Canada West championship.

The Huskies had an extra week off between the end of their regular season and the championship, but Thomaidis doesn’t think the extra rest will hurt their chances, despite some U Sports teams playing in their conference championships less than a week ago.

“This is the exact replica of what we did leading into Canada West, so it’s nice we’ve kind of done that once and know what it felt like and now we can kind of replicate the same kind of schedule,” Thomaidis said. “We’ll be ready to go, for sure.”

The coach said she was extremely happy with how her team was able to play in B.C.

“We were very connected and energized. I think our defence is what really was the difference maker. We played very gritty on D and turned some teams over and got out in transition,” Thomaidis explained.

“That’s probably the best basketball we’ve played all year over the course of those three games, so you have to feel happy with how we preformed and do it all over again.”

In order to take home their third national championship, the Huskies will once again have to win three games in a row.

They’re ranked as the top seed in the country, and will face familiar foes in the University of Calgary Dinos in their opening game.

Thomaidis said she knows that game against Calgary won’t be an easy one, and it’s either win or go home.

“It’s a tough tournament. I think every single one of the teams there has been ranked in the top 10 over the course of the season,” she stated.

“Playing Calgary right off the hop is a tough draw for sure. They were ranked in the top five and are two-and-a-half hours away, so it’ll probably feel like a home game for them. We’ll have to be on top of our game for sure, and then I’m not thinking about too much after that.”

Huskies point guard Gage Grassick has the same mindset Thomaidis is preaching, and isn’t looking too far past the first game.

“Heading off into nationals (you play) the top eight teams in the country. You’re never going to get a bad team, and everyone is playing for that one goal,” Grassick said.

“It’s kind of fun that we get to play a Canada West team off the start, and it’s so great to see that four Canada West teams get to be in nationals this year.”

The Huskies play Calgary at 6 p.m. local time on Thursday at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton.

If they win that game, they’ll play in the semifinal on Saturday against either the University of Alberta or Laval.

The championship final is scheduled for Sunday night.

Before the tournament gets underway, both Grassick and Thomaidis were presented with national awards in Edmonton on Wednesday night.

Thomaidis was presented with the Peter Ennis Award, which is given to the best women’s basketball coach in the country. Thomaidis won the award after leading the Huskies to a 19-1 regular-season record and a Canada West championship.

Along with leading the Huskies to another Final 8 appearance, Thomaidis also led Germany’s women’s basketball team to its first-ever Olympic berth.

TOP COACH IN THE COUNTRY 🗣️🇨🇦

For the third-time in her career, Lisa Thomaidis is the Peter Ennnis Award Winner, presented to the U SPORTS Coach of the Year.#HuskiePride | #PowerOfThePack pic.twitter.com/DymS0swB2y

— USask Huskies Women’s Basketball (@HuskieWBB) March 7, 2024

Grassick was named as a second-team All-Canadian due to her stellar season. It’s the ninth consecutive season a Huskie has earned All-Canadian honours.