Two local basketball players will be on the national stage starting on Thursday.

Moose Jaw's Libby Epoch and the Saskatchewan Huskies, as well as fellow Peacock grad Macaela Crone and the Regina Cougars, are hitting the court this week at the 2019 U Sports Women's Basketball National Championship in Toronto.

"We just need to take care of things one game at a time, we need to focus on our energy on Acadia in the first game and make sure we win that and then going from there, just follow the game plan that our coach puts out for us," said Epoch.

Epoch and the Huskies captured the Canada West Conference Championship last week with a 53-49 win over Crone and the Cougars. That win has given the Huskies some good momentum heading into the Final 8 tournament this week.

"We came up with a lot of big stops when it mattered, Regina played well too defensively, but it was just that neither team's shots were falling," said Epoch. "It felt really good, neither team played their best and we just played a little bit better, which got us the win."

The Huskies have been to the final in two of the past three seasons. They will be looking to avenge last year's 69-48 loss in the final to the Carleton Ravens.

Epoch feels they're a stronger team heading into the national championship this year.

"We have a lot more players that can step in and do a great job," said the third-year point guard. "Getting that playoff experience over the past few years, that all helps too going forward."

Saskatchewan will meet up with the Acadia Axewomen in the national quarter-final on Thursday afternoon. With confidence and experience, the Huskies are ready for whatever Acadia might throw at them.

"We definitely have a size advantage, for them, they will have a speed advantage, they're a little more guard orientated, but they're always a strong competitor, we've had a week to prepare, so hopefully all that helps in the end," said Epoch, who finished 8.3 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game during the regular season.

The Huskies and Axewomen tip off at 1 p.m. Sask time in the quarter-final on Thursday.

Crone and the Cougars will take on the Ottawa Gee-Gees in their quarter-final game on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

The semifinals are on Saturday and the medal games will be played on Sunday from the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto.