Ukrainian duo finds stride with University of Lethbridge Pronghorns – Lethbridge

The University of Lethbridge Pronghorns’ women’s basketball team has had a successful season so far, sitting in fourth spot in the Canada West standings.

The team has begun to click in the past ten games, going 9-1 but there are two players who have come into their own, both on and off the court.

Vlada Hozalova and Viktoriia Kovalevska are two students from Ukraine and have found their stride in Canada.

“It was the idea of my friend Vlada,” explained Kovalevska. “I knew it was her dream so, she just said once, ‘We should go get our visas’ and I was like ‘OK.’”

“I never think of to move to somewhere, like European place,” said Hozalova. “But in my mind, it was always kind of like ‘Oh, Canada, like it sounds like so much fun.’”

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And when asked if Canada has measured up to the hype, Hozalova laughed: “For sure, more than.”

Both are studying business for their second degrees at the University of Lethbridge. But the pair have always had basketball to bind them.

“We used to played two years on the same team in Bryansk on the east side of Ukraine, and a few years we used to play on the national team U20,” said Hozalova. “So, we have known each other a lot, probably like around 7 years.”

In Ukraine, they both played professional basketball with clubs from their region.

“It was my job. I was getting paid for that,” said Kovalevska. “But here, if you want to play basketball you need to be a student at university, so it was quite a surprise for us.”

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By watching them practice, one can tell that the duo know and play the game well.

“Vika is the ultimate playmaker. She does all the little things that don’t show up on score sheets. Excellent on-ball defender,” explained Pronghorns head coach Dave Waknuk. “Whereas Vlada is a scorer, and she has been comfortable in that and found that. She’s made big shots for us — she plays fearless all the time.”

Hozalova currently sits in the top 10 in the country for three-point field goals in women’s university basketball at just under 49 per cent. When asked how she feels about that, Hozalova claimed that she wants to be first.

Waknuk skills in sports often transition into real life and recalls what it was like when the girls first became a part of the team.

“At first I’d say that English was very limited, especially Vlada, you know, a lot of smiles and nodding but not a lot of communication. But since that, to see them both be great students and for Vikka to be an academic all Canadian and to be a standout academically, in a language that is not their main language,” he said.

The comradery — a language understood by all — is on display as Pronghorns teammates rally around and high-five each other after a field goal is made during practice.

“I love being around basketball players, my teammates, coaching staff and everyone who is related to the team, fans. Like, yeah, it’s awesome,” Hozalova said.

With one more season for sure to go for the duo, Waknuk is optimistic that they will continue to grow and discover more things that they like and are interested in here in Canada, a home away from home.

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