With over two-thirds of the WMBL season now in the books, the Okotoks Dawgs are ready to make that late-season push, and set themselves up for playoff success.

With a 19-14 record, the Dawgs sit second in the WMBL's Alberta Division, six and-a-half games back of first place Lethbridge, and just a half-game ahead of third place Medicine Hat.

Manager Brett Thomas says it'll likely stay close for the rest of the season.

"It's a tough division," he says. "The whole league is better. We've got no easy games at all, we've got to bring it day in and day out. These guys are really starting to understand that this is our final push."

The Dawgs have come a long way from a 3-8 start to the season, but Thomas says they need to keep getting better every game.

"You can really see the guys coming together and really starting to understand that they've got a chance to do something special if they can put it on here," he says. "So, it's fun to watch, but absolutely, we can't take any days off, that's for sure."

After a big 5-4 win over the Lethbridge Bulls Saturday night, the Dawgs were able to close the gap a bit on their division rivals.

They don't face the Bulls again until July 30 and 31, and Thomas says his team needs to be ready for a pair of games that could have big playoff implications.

"The bottom line is getting better every day, and just being a better team today than you were yesterday," he says. "If these guys can understand that we're going to be better on July 30 when we play them, and July 31. If we run into them in the playoffs, we're going to have to be better there too."

After enjoying a much-deserved three day break in action, the Dawgs are back at it again Wednesday night when the Medicine Hat Mavericks come to town.