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The women's Coyotes from Okanagan College had a losing record and barely made it into the provincial championships.
But weirdly, it seemed to help them.
"Because we had to fight every single game the last five weeks of the season," said coach Andrew Gini.
"Everything was down to the wire, so I think we were more prepared for the playoffs because of that."
The pressure-tested Coyotes knocked off the 2nd and 3rd-ranked BC teams to earn a spot in the final game and earn a spot in the national championships.
Photo Credit: Contributed
"The group that we have is very feisty and tough and they're very mentally strong," said Gini.
"When it comes down to one game, single elimination, I don't think there are many teams that are better than us in that kind of situation."
The Coyotes were knocked off by Douglas College in the BC tournament final, but have quickly re-focussed on the nationals in Lloydminster, Alberta.
Photo Credit: NowMedia Andrew Gini, Coyotes Coach
That's where they will open the tournament against the home team, the number one ranked and undefeated Lakeland Rustlers.
"The nice thing is they have everything to lose," said Coyote wing Riley Bullock who plays at the wing spot for OC.
"We're the underdogs, so we can just go have fun," she said. "I feel all the pressure is on them."
Riley Bullock Photo Credit: NowMedia
Bullock credits the late-season turn-around to a team meeting.
"We had a meeting as a team and the energy kind of shifted."
So go ahead and call them underdogs now.
Photo Credit: Contributed
The team seems to respond to it.
"We like to say that OC players are dogs. We work hard, we hustle for everything and that's our game."
The Coyotes are self-funded, and the berth to the nationals is expensive, so the team has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with the cost of getting there.
Photo Credit: NowMedia
It's the second time in three years the team has advanced to the nationals, so the organization has discovered that winning is expensive.
"It's like 50 grand in two of the last three years for nationals," said Gini.
The team flies out to Lloydminster on Monday with the tournament tipping off on Wednesday.
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