U of S Huskies return home after national championship win in Ottawa

Fresh off their national championship win in Ottawa over the weekend, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies arrived at the Saskatoon Airport on Monday with medals around their necks and the Bronze Baby trophy in the arms of fifth year Megan Ahlstrom.

But despite the medals and the trophy and the T-shirts that read “National Champions,” the we-just-won-it-all feeling still hasn’t quite sunk in for some of the players.

“I’m not even sure it has settled in yet,” said fourth year guard, Libby Epoch.

“I know there will be some celebrations this week that I think will solidify it as being a national champion, which is amazing.”

One of those celebrations is an event being held at the University’s Physical Activity Complex (PAC) to honour the team as well as the weekend’s gold medal-winning track and wrestling athletes.

The Huskies topped the Brock University Badgers 82-64 in Sunday’s final hosted at Carleton University in Ottawa. Leading the charge for the Huskies was fifth year, and tournament MVP, Sabine Dukate who finished the game with 24 points – all coming from three pointers.

“She was remarkable. National final game, for her to hit eight threes, it’s a U Sports record for a national final,” said head coach Lisa Thomaidis.

“In her first year I think she had 21 points in that final game. So again, she just showcased what a gamer she is and how competitive she is to bring her best game at the biggest moment.”

When asked about the record setting performance, Dukate struggled to put her game into words.

“I don’t know, I don’t have an answer for that,” she said.

“I feel it was more coach said we have to take our shots and that’s my shot, I have to take a three. So I kept taking them even when I kept missing the first ones and it just went well.”

Megan Ahlstrom and Vera Cooks join Dukate as the only other players who were on the team for the Huskies last championship season in 2016. But unlike Dukate, Ahlstrom played a much different role the last time the team took gold.

“I was a bench player, I didn’t really see the floor but I think seeing what it took to win a national championship really helped out and helped with our experience these past few years,” said Ahlstrom.

“After the first year, when you win right away, you think ‘oh this is pretty cool’ and then I think the past few years we really struggled at nationals, and we saw how much work it takes to win a national championship. Now I know that it is extremely hard to get to nationals in the first place.”

However, for Ahlstrom, there was something else that set this win apart from the last one – being able to share it with her sister Carly.

“That was amazing, not many people get that experience in their lifetime and I feel super grateful that I got to experience that with her,” she said.

“And she played a huge role this year, too. Seeing her play so much and me being able to be right by her side, that was super special.”