Electric and gritty.

Two members of the USask women's basketball team offered those words to best describe their crew as it continues its quest at the U Sports championships.

Carly Ahlstrom and Tea DeMong were quick with their responses about how their team has performed this year, just days after winning the Canada West title.

"It's electric, for sure. We just bring the energy. We bring the excitement and the grittiness and it's an electric feeling," says the fifth-year Ahlstrom, named a third team all-star this season after receiving a slew of other accolades during her time as a Huskie.

"I would say gritty. Absolutely gritty," says DeMong, a nursing student in her third year on the team. "We're just relentless. It doesn't matter if we are playing a team that is fast or a team that is big, I think we rise to the occasion. If they're hitting us, we're going to hit them back."

The top eight USport teams in the nation will gather in Edmonton this week at the Saville Community Sports Centre. 

The Huskies have been named top seed in the tournament and will play Thursday in a quarter-final game against Canada West adversary Calgary Dinos. This is the second time ever the Huskies enter the tournament as the top seed. The last time was 2020.

The Huskies reached the national stage by defeating the Alberta Pandas in the Canada West final 73-42.

"We have such a great off-the-court connection that it correlates to on the court," says DeMong. "We just get so excited for each other and we want to win for each other."

Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis has had success building teams over the years and has a pretty good idea of what it takes.

"Our most successful teams have been ones that each of them really cares for one another off the court as well as on the court," says Thomaidis, recently named Canada West coach of the year for the sixth time. She previously won the award in 2004, 2006, 2009, 20011 and 2016.

SPECIAL CONNECTIONS
"They have that special connection, that friendship, whatever it is. And they typically have gone through some type of adversity and I think this group from last year and pretty much all of them were part of last year's disappointment.

Last season, the Huskies surprisingly failed to advance to nationals as a wild card team and that lit a fire under this year's team to right that wrong.

"That really galvanized the group. I remember in 2015 we had a disappointing loss in the CanWest final and in the 2016 year, we won nationals. It's that bond that gets formed when you go through some adversity.

"The disappointment last year I think really ignited a fire in them to improve and to get better and make sure they didn't feel that ever again. Right from Day 1, starting this season, when we started playing games, it was like there was a chip on our shoulder.

"We weren't going to slowly build into the season, it was like right from the first game, we were proving a point."

Thomaidis has led the Huskies to nine Canada West titles in her 25 years leading the team. She took over the Huskies program in the 1998-99 season and led her squad to national titles twice, in 2015-16 and 2019-20.

Thomaidis also coaches the German women's national team and has led them to their first-ever Olympic berth in Paris later this summer. Thomaidis previously coached the Canadian national team.

The Huskies compiled an impressive 19-1 record this season with the only loss coming against Regina.

"The couple of games leading into that (loss), we hadn't played really well, but we're talented enough to still win. But the loss was a really good thing for us, I think," says Thomaidis. "It highlights where we need to be better and where we need to improve especially being near the end of the year.

ALWAYS WANT TO WIN
"The motivation completely came from them. We always want to win. They always want to win. We have a very competitive group. I think that's the other part that makes this group special is probably across the roster, the most competitive group of girls we have ever had," says Thomaidis. 

"In the past we've had extremely competitive individuals, but maybe not all 12 or 13 of them. With this group, that's what probably sets them apart."

Gage Grassick was named a Canada West first team all-star while teammate Tea DeMong was selected for the second team. Fifth-year player Carly Ahlstrom was named to third team all-star this season following a slew of awards during her dominating run as a Huskie.

"The biggest thing for me is our team's success and what happens at the end of the year. Anything extra is a bonus, but at the end of the day, I would way rather have a national championship than any individual accolades."

"I think we're such a diverse group that loves to be together on and off the court," says Grassick, a third year Kinesiology student. The friendships they have developed while playing has also continued away from the gym and has strengthened their bonds, she adds.

"We have really big accountability on this team. So, what we do is not for yourself, it's for your teammates. If you don't, you're letting your team down.

"That is a bond between us – players, coaches, everything that just unites us," Grassick says. 

Thomaidis and her team know that path to the championship gets more difficult especially as they enter the USports final tourney. 

To win this tournament, the Huskies will may eventually face perennial powerhouse Carleton Ravens, a team seeking its third Bronze Baby national title, so Thomaidis is acutely aware of the expectations of having a top program.

"That's a hard one because as much as it's amazing to be a part of, for these players, a lot of them come here because they want to win, there is also a bit of a burden placed on them. I think they felt that last year.

"Because we've won a lot, people may think it gets easier and it doesn't. If anything, winning gets harder, so to continue to replicate that success is incredibly difficult. What these women have done to get back on top is incredible."

So, as the Huskies prepare for a run at the national title, the only one other word Thomaidis and her team want to hear is winner.

Huskie fans can watch all the action on CBC Gem and CBCsports.ca.