U of S Huskies' road to basketball glory included naps, headbands, AC/DC

With theUniversity of Saskatchewanholding a pep rally Wednesday morningfor its triumphantHuskies women's basketball team, team members are opening upabout their fun side.

• RELATED:U of S Huskies win 1st CIS women's basketball national championship

Three Huskies basketball players with gold medals dangling fromtheir necks joined Saskatoon Morningto share some stories about the team's road to glory including a love of naps, AC/DC and headbands.

Dalyce Emmerson,one of the team's fifth-year players,said she couldn't have imagined ending her basketball career any better than two championship bannersthe Canada-West and CanadianInteruniversitySport(CIS)national championships.

The team won its first-ever CISnational title Sunday inFredericton, N.B.,defeating theRyersonRams from Toronto with a final score of 85-71.

"From the beginning of the year we always said we wanted to win two banners so the closer we got to playoffs we knew what we wanted and we went after it," Emmersonsaid.

Emmerson paid tribute to her teammates and how the camraderie helped the Huskieswin.

Having each other's backs

"It's a sisterhood. We're all family and we all have each other's backs and I think the more you trust in each other the more comfortable and the better your team is."

Third-year player Maddy Humbertalso likes thetaste ofdoublegold, but saysthe team has a lot of work ahead of it, if itwants to be repeat champions.

"We saw how hard our fifth year players worked to get to this point so i think we know what we need to do to get back to this point and back into the final again," she said.

Rookie says family atmosphere gave her support

Moving to Saskatchewan from Latvialast year, rookie pointguard SabineDukatenoted how women's basketball at the U of S is dramatically differentfrom her experience playing back home where basketball was more of a job.

"Here the girls they are more like a family and they're trying to know everything about me," she said. "I'm not the person who opens up too fast and that's what brought us close because they want to know everything and they want to be behind you.".

AC/DC and other rituals before the big game

Besides listening to AC/DC's 'Thunderstuck' before the team heads out on the court, Emmerson said her pre-game routine requires a quick snooze to calm herself mentally

"I nap before every game and that's a must, it helps me mentally and then there's the head bands. When I don't wear a headband sweat gets in my face and everything feels off. Headbands [are]my biggest superstition," she said.

Dukate said she's usually the quiet one in the room and rather than thinking about the game, she tries to keep her mind at ease and leave everything out on the court come gametime.

Poutine back on the menu

Now that the season is over, the women are happy to kick their strict meal-plans out the door and indulge in whatever they want.

Emmerson says she's ordered a side of fries and poutine with almost everything since Sunday's win, while Humbert and a few of her teammates went out for championship tacos last night.

The U of Sis holdingapep rally for the Huskiesat 11:45 a.m. CSTto celebrate its first-everCanadianInteruniversitySport (CIS) national championship.

The rally is beingheld atat the Physical Activity Complex (PAC).

Saskatoon Mayor DonAtchison, along withHuskieathletic director BasilHughtonand U of S president PeterStoicheffare amongst the speakers. The team's head coach LisaThomaidisrounds out the speakerslist.

Fans are encouraged to wear their green to the PAC. Following the introduction of the team and the speakers, fans in at the PAC will have the chance to come onto the court to meet and congratulate the team.