The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's basketball team has its sights set on national success. The team is undefeated as of the Christmas break, and is ranked first in Western Canada and second in the country, behind Carleton University. "We have a great off-court dynamic, which helps things a lot," said Carly Ahlstrom in an interview with Candice Lipski on CBC's Saskatoon Morning. "We all just really enjoy being around each other and hanging out with each other, so obviously that makes such a huge difference on the court." Ahlstrom was the leading point scorer in the Huskies most recent game, a dominant 101-34 victory against the Winnipeg Wesmen on Dec.
5. She scored 19 points, nabbed six rebounds and had a steal. The Huskies took the national title in 2020. Last season, the team lost in the semi-finals.
Ahlstrom said the players are using last year's loss as fuel. "I think some of the best things can come from some of the worst heartache, and I think after last year especially, having the same core people go through that has really lit a fire under our butt," said Ahlstrom. "It's just kind of always in the back of our mind throughout the season, and you just always want to always remember how that feels and how we don't want to go through that again." So far, they're on the path to achieving their goal.
The team has finished the first half of the season with a perfect 10-0 record. During those 10 games they've outscored their opponents by an average of 30 points.