The wind chill in Saskatoon is in the –40s as University of Saskatchewan Huskie athletes filter into the Merlis Besher Centre for practice this week.
But the streak the Huskie women’s basketball team is on is red-hot — 44 wins and counting, stretching over more than a year and two seasons.
The 2025 U Sports champions haven’t lost since the Calgary Dinos swept them way back in November 2024.
On Friday, the Huskies, who are 14-0 so far in the regular season, will put that winning streak on the line against those same Dinos.
“I think it’s a great battle to have in front of us,” said Huskies forward Téa DeMong. “It’s kind of nice to almost have the target on their backs, instead of us having the target on our backs.
“For once, it’ll be nice to have some revenge.”
The Huskies have plenty of veteran leadership, with five fifth-year players and three fourth-years on the team.
Head coach Lisa Thomaidis, in her 27th year with the team, said that veteran leadership is key to the team’s success.
“They know what needs to be done,” Thomaidis said.
“They’ve experienced wins at the highest level and disappointments along the way as well. They’ve really run the gamut of all the experiences that you can possibly have.”
It also doesn’t hurt to have arguably the top head coach in U Sports basketball.
Besides building a powerhouse team at the U of Saskatchewan that’s won three national titles, Thomaidis has also had stints coaching Canada’s and Germany’s women’s national teams.
“It’s the best you will ever get in U Sport,” says Huskie captain Gage Grassick.
“And not just in basketball, in any sport. And we’re just so grateful to be able to be surrounded by such knowledge each and every day, and that they just push us to be better.”
Grassick said coaching is why the team has success year after year.
“It doesn’t really matter what players they have, because they just make them into great people first and foremost, and then that turns them into great basketball players.”
Grassick is the heart and soul of the team.
The fifth-year point guard from Prince Albert was the U Sports player of the year in 2025.
Grassick said she can sum up the identity of the Huskies in one word.
“Gritty. I love that word, and I think that just describes our team this year,” she said.
“We’ll dive on every loose ball and kind of just get after it, no matter what.”
The Huskies will need that grit in back-to-back Friday and Saturday night games against the Dinos, who have only lost two games all year.
“For us, it’s just another opponent that we really have to hone in on … and trust that the hard work that we’ve done so far has got us to this point and it’ll get us to this weekend,” said guard Logan Reider.
“There are no weak teams, so regardless of who we’re playing, we’re still preparing the same,” added Grassick.
“Everyone in [U Sports’] Canada West [conference] is gunning for us and wants to take us down. So we just have to work that much harder to stay on top of our game.”
The Canada West conference has four teams ranked in the top 10, including the Huskies at number 1.
Thomaidis said that competition is what you want, especially with a month and a half to go before the playoffs.
“It really brings out the best in our team and in our athletes,” she said.
“I think when you’re true competitors and you’re trying to be the best you can be, you need that level of competition to continually raise your level of play.”
Thomaidis feels there is more the Huskies can accomplish before the season is over.
“Last year, at the end of the season, that was some of the best basketball I’ve ever seen from a Huskie basketball team,” Thomaidis said.
“I thought, you know what, if that’s the case, if that’s the level we can play at last year, what’s possible this year?
“I think just to be able to showcase that talent is going to be fun down the stretch.”
Game time between the Huskies and Dinos is 6 p.m. CT Friday at the Physical Activity Complex on the U of S campus, followed by the men’s game. Action on Saturday starts at 5 p.m. CT.
Source link
