KAMLOOPS – For the first time in 630 days Canada West basketball was back inside the Tournament Capital Centre Friday night, with the host Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's basketball team falling by a score of 80 to 71 at the hands of the UNBC Timberwolves.
 
It was a gutsy performance to open the 2021-22 season for a young WolfPack squad that found themselves in a big hole early before battling back to keep things tight for a vast majority of the game.
 
"We got down 10, were able to make it close but just could never close the gap," said WolfPack head coach Ken Olynyk. "Shakirova for them played outstanding, we did pretty good defending Boykova but Shakirova hurt us."
 
The Timberwolves got their season off to a winning start thanks in large part to a pair of monster performances. Alina Shakirova had a game-high 36 points on the night, 26 of which came in the first half of play. Fellow product of Russia Svetlana Boykova had 10 points while pulling down a ridiculous 22 rebounds on the night.
 
Depth in scoring was a strength for the WolfPack on the night. Elana Sireni led the way with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Kelsey Cruz (13 pts.), Kyla Smith (11), Josie Mackie (9) and Danijela Kovacevic (9) all chipped in.
 
"There's some kids that didn't play today that will play tomorrow, as a young team different people are going to step up each night," said Olynyk.
 
Both of these teams will be back in action tomorrow night. The Timberwolves will head to Abbotsford to face the Fraser Valley Cascades while the 'Pack will remain in Kamloops to take on the UBC Okanagan Heat inside the TCC.
 
All of that action can be watched live on canadawest.tv.