| (1) | Carleton | 52 | ||||||
| (8) | Calgary | 42 | Carleton | 46 | ||||
| (4) | McGill | 55 | McGill | 44 | Carleton | 69 | ||
| (5) | McMaster | 39 | ||||||
| —–CARLETON | ||||||||
| (2) | Regina | 76 | ||||||
| (7) | Laval | 56 | Regina | 78 | Saskatchewan | 48 | ||
| (3) | Acadia | 72 | Saskatchewan | 67 | ||||
| (6) | Saskatchewan | 67 |
SEEDING
1. Carleton Ravens (OUA champions: 23-0 regular season / 3-0 playoffs / 33-2 v CIS)
2. Regina Cougars (CWUAA champions and hosts: 18-2 regular season / 5-0 playoffs / 32-3 v CIS)
3. Acadia Axewomen (AUS champs: 18-2 regular season / 2-0 playoffs / 28-3 v CIS)
4. McGill Redmen (RSEQ champs: 11-5 regular season / 2-0 playoffs / 22-6 v CIS)
5. McMaster Marauders (OUA runners-up: 20-4 regular season / 2-1 playoffs / 26-6 v CIS)
6. Saskatchewan Huskies (Canada West runners-up: 17-3 regular season / 4-3 playoffs / 23-9 v CIS)
7. Laval Rouge et Or (Quebec runners-up, wild card: 12-4 regular season / 1-1 playoffs / 23-7 v CIS)
8. Calgary Dinos (Canada West, bronze medalists: 15-5 regular season / 3-2 playoffs / 25-9 v CIS)
In the quarterfinals, held in Regina, the top-seeded Carleton Ravens clipped the 8th-seeded Calgary Dinos 52-42. “Our defence was excellent today,” said Ravens coach Taffe Charles. “Calgary is a very good offensive team and playing against their concepts requires a lot of communication, togetherness and hustle and we definitely showed those things today. … What we’ve been known for is defending and rebounding – that was our focus today. I think the kids did an awesome job of not selling out on that end … Offensively we probably could have scored more, but we would have allowed more points. At the end of the day it was a gritty effort by a number of kids and I’m just proud that we were able to survive and advance.” The Dinos broke to a 4-0 lead as the Ravens’ first basket didn’t arrive until the 7:10 mark of the first quarter when guard Catherine Traer found post Heather Lindsay for a hook shot in the paint. Carleton took a 7-6 lead after forward Elizabeth Leblanc found third-year guard Alexandra Trivieri for a runout. Leblanc then hit a left-handed floater to give Carleton an 11-6 lead after one quarter. Nicole Gilmore scored the first basket of the quarter for either team after a 2:30 drought. Third-year guard Cynthia Dupont hit a corner trey and then converted an and-one layup to give Carleton a 20-8 lead. Liene Stalidzane hit a trey to cut the margin to 20-13 but Stephanie countered with a trey and Lindsay notched a short baseline jumper as Carleton took a 27-15 lead into the lockers. Stalidzane opened the third quarter with a finish in traffic. Laura Grabe then hit a turnaround jumper to draw the Dinos to within 29-19. But Ravens forward Alyssa Cerino hit a critical trey and the Ravens began getting out in transition. A steal and assist by Dupont set Gilmore up for a quick bucket midway through the frame, and fifth-year point guard Jenjen Abella notched a trey following consecutive rebounds to give the Ravens a 43-26 after three quarters. “I feel like if you look at playoffs in general, people are way more physical and they want it more. It’s not just like the regular season, especially knowing that we’re first – they’re coming after us hard and we get everyone’s best game. We do expect it and we just have to keep fighting,” Dupont said. The tempo ground to a halt in the final frame. Carleton failed to register a point until the 6:45 mark when Abella sunk a jumper along the baseline off an inbounds pass from Leblanc. Brianna Ghali sunk a corner three to bring the Dinos to within 45-36 with 5:54 left to play. Stalidzane then split a pair of free throws. But Lindsay scored off an up-and-under move in the post with a minute left to play to push Carleton’s lead to 13 and the Ravens coasted to the win. “Gilmore had an awesome game today and she’s so understated,” said Charles. “She’s really important to our basketball team and people don’t understand that. She doesn’t get all the accolades because we have three other good players as well, but to me she’s an all-star. She’s the heart and soul of our team.” Nicole Gilmore was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Liene Stalidzane earned the laurels for the Dinos. Calgary guard Hilary Annich said “we knew they were the No. 1 seed and needed to come out stronger, but we came out a bit flat. We won the second half by two points, so it was definitely a game we could have controlled.” Nicole Gilmore paced the Ravens with 12 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Heather Lindsay added 11 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 8 boards and 3 blocks. Cynthia Dupont added 8 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Jenjen Abella scored 7 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc and 4 boards. Alyssa Cerino scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 blocks. Elizabeth Leblanc notched 4 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Stephanie Carr scored 3 on 1-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Alexandra Trivieri added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Catherine Traer was scoreless on 0-13 from the floor, 0-9 from the arc, 6 boards and 3 assists. The Ravens hit 20-65 (.308) from the floor, 6-29 (.207) from the arc and 6-7 (.857) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 9 steals, 11 blocks, 18 turnovers and 14 fouls. Liene Stalidzane paced the Dinos with 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 7 boards. Erin McIntosh added 8 on 3-12 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Shannon Hatch notched 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 5 boards. Brianna Ghali scored 6 on 2-12 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Michaela Nieuwenhuiz added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 2 steals. Laura Grabbe scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Bobbi-Jo Colburn scored 2 on 1-6 from the floor and 0-3 from the floor, while Katie Upham, Anmol Mattu, Hilary Annich and Reyna Crawford were scoreless. The Dinos hit 16-61 (.262) from the floor, 3-14 (.214) from the arc and 7-12 (.583) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 3 assists, 8 steals, 3 blocks, 15 turnovers and 18 fouls. The Dinos (coached by Damian Jennings, assisted by Matthew Spencer, strength & conditioning Rich Hesketh) also included Brie Wilcox, Jenna Spruyt, Mozanga Ekwalanga, Courtney Donaldson, Azalya Forstbauer and Sascha Lichtenwald.
The 4th-seeded McGill Martlets clocked the 5th-seeded McMaster Marauders 55-39. McMaster led 13-11 after the first quarter and led by as many as 8 en route to a 27-22 edge at halftime but McGill went on a 12-2 run in the third to take the lead for good, hanging onto a 39-33 advantage after the third quarter. Another 8-0 run by the Martlets in the fourth quarter, and a corresponding five-minute scoring drought by the Marauders, put McGill in complete control of the contest with a late 14-point lead. The Martlets allowed just 12 points against in a stingy second-half defensive effort. “I thought we had a slow start today, and we lacked urgency early. It was a really physical game and we didn’t match that early but it got better in the second half,” McGill coach Ryan Thorne said. “We need to have that urgency and play the way we did at the end right from the start. There’s no pacing yourselves at a national championship – we need to play in the lanes and play defensively from the beginning.” The turning point may have been a pair of clutch treys by freshman Charlotte Gray. Her first came seconds after entering the game, with 4:38 remaining in the third stanza. It snapped a 29-29 saw-off and gave McGill the lead for good. She added another trey in the fourth quarter, with just over six minutes remaining to put McGill in front 44-35 and snuff out any hope for the Marauders. “Charlotte was nervous early on but knocked down two big threes for us later in the game,” noted Thorne. “She was open, in a rhythm and looked comfortable at that point.” Frédérique Potvin was chosen player of the game for the Martlets, while Linnaea Harper earned the laurels for the Marauders. Frédérique Potvin paced the Martlets with 16 on 6-15 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Marie-Love Michel added 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards and 3 steals. Gladys Hakizimana scored 7 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Alexandra Kiss-Rusk notched 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 12 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Charlotte Clayton added 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Geraldine Cabillo-Abante added 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Chiso Ufondu added 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Kamsi Ogbudibe added 2 on 1-2 from the floor. Maggy Chabot scored 1 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line, while Ruth Tshikudi-Tshila and Stephanie Guinois-Cote were scoreless. The Martlets hit 19-51 (.373) from the floor, 7-20 (.350) from the arc and 10-16 (.625) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 9 steals, 5 blocks, 21 turnovers and 18 fouls. Linnaea Harper paced the Marauders with 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 10 boards and 3 blocks. Jelena Mamic added 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Olivia Wilson scored 9 on 2-12 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Hilary Hanaka notched 8 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Sarah Gates scored 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 4 boards, while Erin Burns, Alexis Spadafora, Mia Spadafora, Julia Hanaka and Clare Sharkey were scoreless. Sharkey nabbed 3 boards, while Burns and Mia Spadafora each nabbed 2. The Marauders hit 12-58 (.207) from the floor, 4-22 (.182) from the arc and 11-16 (.688) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 10 steals, 4 blocks, 18 turnovers and 16 fouls. The Marauders (coached by Theresa Burns, assisted by Anne-Marie Thuss, Ed Grosel and Andrew Baillie) also included Danielle Boiago, Brielle Loebach, Evie Streight, Adrienne Peters, Melody Wyslobicky and Alex Verboom.
The 2nd-seeded Regina Cougars pounded the 7th-seeded Laval Rouge et Or 76-56 after leading 18-11, 36-27 and 53-41 at the quarters. The Cougars took command with an 18-4 second half run. It was a one-possession game with two minutes left in the first half but Cougar Michaela Kleisinger hit a trey and Carolina Goncalves and Charlotte Kot had buckets on back-to-back possessions to give the Cougars seven points in under a minute and a 9-point lead at the break. Regina scored the first four points of the second half to build up a double-digit lead and though Laval fought back to within six points by holding the Cougars without a field goal for five minutes, the Cougars then iced with the run commencing with a minute to play in the third quarter. It started with Sara Hubenig trey, and triples on back-to-back possessions by Kleisinger and Goncalves were the backbreakers as the Regina lead ballooned to 21 three minutes into the final period. “I thought we had really good defensive intensity for the majority of the game, and whenever it got close we managed to hit a big shot,” Cougars coach Dave Taylor said. “We got some big stops during that big run in the second half, and when we do that, it allows us to get out and run.” Carolina Goncalves was chosen player of the game for the Cougars, while Claudia Émond earned the laurels for the Rouge et Or. Carolina Goncalves paced the Cougars with 15 on 4-12 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Charlotte Kot added 14 on 6-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 9 boards. Kyanna Giles added 14 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Michaela Kleisinger scored 10 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Sara Hubenig notched 9 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Britton Belyk scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Christina McCusker added 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 5 boards. Avery Pearce scored 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Kyia Giles added 1 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals, while Lauryn Prokop, Alexi Rowden and Caitlin Zacharias were scoreless. The Cougars hit 25-66 (.379) from the floor, 9-19 (.474) from the arc and 17-28 (.607) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 11 steals, 2 blocks, 18 turnovers and 16 fouls. Jane Gagne paced the Rouge et Or with 19 on 6-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Claudia Emond added 13 on 5-14 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Raphaelle Cote scored 7 on 2-13 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Naomi Lavallee added 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 2 boards. Genevieve Derome notched 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 steals. Sarah-Jane Marois scored 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Koralie Melancon added 2 on 1-1 from the floor. Frederique Beauchamp added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Marie-Pier Champagne scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 4 boards, while Lea Dominique, Carrie-Ann Auger and Laurie Pelletier wee scoreless. Dominique nabbed 6 boards, while Auger dished 4 assists and pilfered 2 balls. The Rouge et Or hit 20-65 (.308) from the floor, 6-31 (.194) from the arc and 10-15 from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 10 steals, 8 blocks, 19 turnovers and 22 fouls. The Rouge et Or (coached by Guillaume Giroux, assisted by Marie-Pascale Nadeau, Francois Patenaude and Justin Robert, trainer Leandre Gagne-Lemieux) also included Gabrielle Raiche-Marcoux, Laurie Pelletier, Kim Letang and Djamila Amidou Triquet.
In the last quarterfinal, the 6th-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies stunned the 3rd-seeded Acadia Axewomen 72-67. “That had all the makings of a great game,” said Huskies coach Lisa Thomaidis. “We were down big early and made a comeback and it was tight for most of the second half. I’m just so proud of this team to come out and win like we did.” Saskatchewan broke to a 4-0 lead but soon trailed 12-3. The Axewomen led 20-11 after one quarter and by as many as 15 in the second quarter before the Huskies rallied to within 39-36 at the half on a trio from beyond the arc by Sabine Dukate and singletons from Megan Lindquist and Libby Epoch. Acadia led by no more than 4 in the third quarter and Saskatchewan invariably rallied to knot the score before Paloma Anderson hit a runner to give the Axewomen a 51-49 lead heading into the final frame. The Huskies took their first lead at 53-52 and after Summer Masikewich added a bucket, the Huskies took command, leading by as many as 8. “We just needed to settle down on offence, I thought we were just settling for early shots on the first side,” said Thomaidis. “Acadia’s defence is right there and they aren’t going to let you get anything on the first side. I just thought we were just really slow to recognize that our bigs needed to touch the ball. Summer and Kyla [Shand] were just such a big presence and they had such a hard time matching up with that. Our perimeter players did a good job of finding them.” Summer Masikewich was chosen player of the game for the Huskies, while Paloma Anderson earned the laurels for the Axewomen. Summer Masikewich led the Huskies with 25 on 11-20 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 14 boards. Sabine Dukate added 17 on 4-14 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 9 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Kyla Shand scored 11 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 13 boards. Libby Epoch notched 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-6 from the line, 3 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Kelsey Lalor added 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 boards. Megan Lindquist scored 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists. Megan Ahlstrom added 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Brianna Fehr scored 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Janaya Brown added 1 on 1-2 from the line, while Maya Olynyk and Madeline Humbert were scoreless. The Huskies hit 24-64 (.375) from the floor, 6-23 (.261) from the arc and 18-27 (.667) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 13 steals, 6 blocks, 24 turnovers and 18 fouls. Paloma Anderson paced the Axewomen with 25 on 8-25 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 7-10 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Haley McDonald added 12 on 4-15 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 steals. Chanel Smith notched 8 on 2-13 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Kathleen Ross added 8 on 3-4 from the floor and 2-2 from the arc. Kelsey Rice scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 6 boards. Alexandra Berry added 4 on 1-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 17 boards, 3 steals and 8 blocks. Ellen Hatt added 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists, while Rachel Clouatre-Trudeau was scoreless. The Axewomen hit 22-73 (.301) from the floor, 8-26 (.308) from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 16 steals, 9 blocks, 18 turnovers and 23 fouls. The Axewomen (coached by Len Harvey) also included Alyson Fulton, Miranda Crawley, Taylor Tollier, Claire Ayotte, Sarsha Cadle and Kaisen MacKinnon.
In the semis, the top-seeded Carleton Ravens nipped the 4th-seeded McGill Redmen 46-44 as Catherine Traer banked home a runner from the free-throw line with 1.6 seconds to play after taking a hand-off from Jenjen Abella with 14 seconds to play and calmly waiting until there were 5 ticks on the clock, driving on her defender and heaving up the floater. “I got the ball and I thought you know what, there’s no pressure, it’s either that or overtime. I just had that feeling that we were going to win,” Traer said. “This is nationals, this is it. We all know that these might be the last games of our career. Some will go on and play afterwards, but we want to finish off on a high note and finish off with a national championship.” McGill opened the game on a 15-2 run, capped by a pair of tough buckets in the paint from Alexandra Kiss-Rusk and a trey by Geraldine Cabillo-Abante. Their stifling defence gave the Ravens nothing in the way of an open look and the Martlets led 15-5 after one quarter. McGill opened the second frame with a 5-0 run but Carleton rallied with an 11-2 run on back-to-back buckets by Heather Lindsay and 6 unanswered from Traer. The Martlets led 26-20 at the half. McGill got hot from behind the arc in the third quarter, as Cabillo-Abante, Charlotte Clayton and Fredericque Potvin all rained in triples in a two-minute span. A late answer from Jenjen Abella from behind the arc shrunk the deficit to five but last-second free throws from Cabillo-Abante made the score 42-35 after three quarters. The No. 1 defensive team in the country flipped the switch in the fourth quarter, held the Martlets without a field goal on 14 shots and off the scoreboard. After diving for a loose ball, Abella led a fast break that resulted in an Elizabeth Leblanc lay up in traffic, leading to an and-one opportunity, which she converted at the line moments later to bring Carleton to within 4. The Ravens continued to ramp up the pace of play and pressure McGill’s ballhandlers, which enabled Carleton to prevent the Martlets to register a single point through the first five minutes of the final frame. Carr stepped up to the line and drilled 2 free throws to tie the game at 42. McGill got on the board for the first time in the fourth with 2:44 left when Marie-Love Michel cashed in on both of her free throw attempts to give the Martlets a slim two-point lead. But a quick entry pass by Abella to Leblanc knotted the score at 44 with 1:26 to play, setting the stage for Traer’s heroics. A Potvin bomb at the buzzer sailed long. Ravens post Heather Lindsay said the squad was determined to avenge a loss to the Martlets in the 2017 semis. “I honestly watched the game probably a hundred times. I couldn’t live that one down. It was a terrible feeling and we didn’t want to feel it again. … They’re a really physical team and they play really good defence, so we really had to work for it. I thought we did a better job of scoring, trying to find open looks and passing the ball and I thought we really showed that at the end of the game today.” Ravens coach Taffe Charles said “we just had to stay focused and we didn’t get the tempo that we wanted to get to. I did know that they didn’t score the ball that well, but the averages are the averages. A lot of these girls, they didn’t give up. It’s a 40-minute game and that’s why we got to where we are. Gilmore’s down, Jenjen’s swelling up. It’d be easy for us to quit, but this is just very symbolic. We’ve done it the hard way all year. Again, it’s another hard victory and we get the opportunity to play a host team, so we’re just proud to get that opportunity.” Traer said “I wouldn’t say on this team there’s one leader. There’s 13 leaders and 13 strong, intelligent and brave, powerful women. All year we’ve battled together when times are tough and our coaches are tough, we do it together and we fight together. There’s not one person that shines on this team and I think that’s what makes us so powerful. You can’t just stop one person, you got to stop a bunch of us because everyone can score, everyone’s a threat and in the end we all want it just as much.” Charles said “it seems like we’ve had experience being down all year, even last week in the OUA final, and maybe that helped us out here. We had one of our starters hurt, but we showed a ton of resiliency to battle through. Now as we get ready for Sunday, we’ve got to find some health, get some rest, and cram a lot of planning into one day.” Martlets coach Ryan Thorne said “we tried everything, went inside and outside but couldn’t make a bucket. We didn’t even get a field-goal in the final quarter. We got tight and had players who normally would take shots shying away from those opportunities. We had some decent looks but just didn’t make the shots.” Thorne also lamented a marked discrepancy in opportunities at the free throw line. “That started in the second quarter and all of a sudden, the fouls changed. Every quarter, they were shooting in bonus before we even had a foul shot. It was tough (to stomach). But despite that, we gave up two easy baskets in the last two minutes and that was the difference in my opinion. Even though they weren’t scoring, neither were they, and then we gave up a basket to (Elizabeth) Leblanc because we fell asleep. Then they hung a runner off the backboard with two seconds left to tie the score.” The Ravens essentially played without starter Nicole Gilmore, who toiled just 8 minutes as she struggled with a leg injury. Catherine Traer was named player of the game for the Ravens, while Geraldine Cabillo-Abante earned the laurels for the Martlets. Elizabeth Leblanc paced the Ravens with 13 on 4-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 7 boards and 3 steals. Catherine Traer added 10 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 5 boards and 3 steals. Heather Lindsay added 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 11 boards. Jenjen Abella scored 6 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Stephanie Carr added 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Alyssa Cerino scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards, while Nicole Gilmore, Alexandra Trivieri, Madison Reid, Cynthia Dupont and Karyne Jolicoeur were scoreless. Dupont nabbed 3 boards. The Ravens hit 12-52 (.231) from the floor, 2-14 (.143) from the arc and 20-25 (.800) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 10 steals, 3 blocks, 15 turnovers and 13 fouls. Geraldine Cabillo-Abante paced the Martlets with 16 on 5-9 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Alexandra Kiss-Rusk added 9 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 13 boards and 4 assists. Frederique Potvin scored 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 steals. Marie-Love Michel notched 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards and 2 steals. Charlotte Clayton added 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Gladys Hakizimana added 2 on 0-14 from the floor, 0-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals, while Chiso Ufondu, Maggy Chabot, Ruth Tshikudi-Tshila, Stephanie Guinois-Cote and Kamsi Ogbudibe were scoreless. The Martlets hit 14-59 (.237) from the floor, 7-26 (.269) from the arc and 9-9 from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 11 steals, 3 blocks, 23 turnovers and 20 fouls. The Martlets (coached by Ryan Thorne, assisted by Helen Magadalinos, Bayonne Taty and Francoise Charest, doctor Andrea Dolan, therapist Laura Abbatiello) also included Stephanie Mondou, Kiana Scantlebury, Van-Leap Sry and Darnelle Noel.
In the other semi, the 6th-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies stunned the 2nd-seeded host Regina Cougars 74-71.
The Cougars led 24-23 after one quarter. The Huskies led 40-37 at the half as they begin hitting bombs from the perimeter. The Huskies took an 8-point lead but the Cougars with a rallied with a 9-0 run before Sabine Dukate hit a free throw to knot the score at 55 after three quarters. Libby Epoch hit the winning trey for the Huskies with 1:10 on the clock, shortly after Megan Lindquist had notched a trey to give them a 6-point lead. Cougars guard Sara Hubenig answered with a trey with 30 seconds remaining but the Cougars couldn’t get off another shot. The fourth quarter featured no less than 23 lead changes as both squads struggled with turnovers. “It was our three-point shooting, that was huge for us,” said Huskies coach Lisa Thomaidis. ”We’ve been struggling the last few weeks. We led the country in three-point shooting percentage and then when we went in to playoffs, we just went ice cold. It was great timing for it to come back. I thought we were going to give it away with our turnovers we just couldn’t secure the ball and Regina’s pressure really got to us. We managed to sneak it out.” Huskie point guard Libby Epoch told the Regina Leader-Post that “was probably the best team win I’ve ever had playing basketball. It’s just amazing to walk away with that and to be able to play tomorrow for the Bronze Baby.” Thomaidis said “I don’t think many people gave us much of a shot tonight. They’ve been looking pretty unstoppable throughout the course of the season and playoffs. We knew we were going to have to play really well to give ourselves a chance.” Taylor said his troops were “devastated. They had high aspirations and to lose at home like we did (is difficult). Any time you lose in the semifinal it’s hard and probably a little bit harder this year.” Charlotte Kot added that “(it feels) like our entire season just ended, basically. It’s the last one (tomorrow) so we’ve gotta try to end on a win. I’m just going to give myself until tonight to feel bad for myself and then wake up tomorrow and make it a fresh start.” Megan Lindquist was chosen player of the game for the Huskies, while Kyanna Giles earned the laurels for the Cougars. Sabine Dukate led the Huskies with 20 on 7-17 from the floor, 5-11 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Megan Lindquist added 15 on 5-9 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Libby Epoch added 13 on 3-10 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 2 boards and 5 assists. Megan Ahlstrom notched 8 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Summer Masikewich added 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 3-7 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 3 blocks. Kyla Shand scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Kelsey Lalor scored 3 on 1-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 6 boards. Brianna Fehr added 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 boards, while Maya Olynyk was scoreless and nabbed 2 boards. The Huskies hit 23-55 (.418) from the floor, 14-28 from the arc and 14-23 (.609) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 2 steals, 7 blocks, 26 turnovers and 18 fouls. Kyanna Giles paced the Cougars with 27 on 9-20 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Kyia Giles added 14 on 6-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Charlotte Kot notched 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Michaela Kleisinger added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Avery Pearce scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 0-2 from the line. Carolina Goncalves added 2 on 0-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 2 assists and 2 steals. Christina McCusker scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 3 boards, while Lauryn Prokop was scoreless. The Cougars hit 25-67 (.373) from the floor, 8-17 (.471) from the arc and 13-18 (.722) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 17 steals, 2 blocks, 10 turnovers and 24 fouls.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Regina Cougars nipped the 4th-seeded McGill Marletts 66-63. The Martlets led 17-14 after one quarter after hitting 4 treys. But the Cougars opened the second frame with 12-2 run including a pair of Kyanna Gilles layups and a trey by Michaela Kleisinger. The Martlets turned up the defence in the third quarter, tying up the score with buckets from Marie-Love Michel, Gladys Hakizimana and Alex Kiss-Rusk. The first Cougar bucket of the second half didn’t come until 4.5 minutes into the quarter when Charlotte Kot hit a mid-range jumpshot. She promptly scored the Cougars next 10 points. Sara Hubenig added a trey as Regina closed the third with a 12-2 run to go up 55-43 heading into the final frame. A trio from beyond the arc by Stephanie Guinois-Cote trimmed the margin to 2 with 25 seconds to play. Hubenig answered with a pair of free throws. “I didn’t have any doubts about us competing after last night’s loss,” said Cougars coach Dave Taylor. “We’re always competitors – we talked about wanting to finish the season on our home floor with a win, and I’m glad we did.” Taylor was elated that Kot scored 30. “I’m happy for her. She’s meant so much to our program and I’m thrilled to have her go out like that. It’s the second-best ending we could have hoped for.” Kot was chosen player of the game for the Cougars, while Gladys Hakizimana earned the laurels for the Martlets. Charlotte Kot paced the Cougars with 30 on 13-21 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 6 boards. Kyanna Giles added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 6 assists. Sara Hubenig scored 9 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Christina McCusker notched 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Michaela Kleisinger added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 assists. Britton Belyk scored 3 on 1-1 from the arc. Kyia Giles added 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals, while Lauryn Prokop, Avery Pearce, Carolina Goncalves, Alexi Rowden and Caitlin Zacharias were scoreless. The Cougars hit 26-62 (.429) from the floor, 3-15 (.200) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 14 turnovers and 13 fouls. Gladys Hakizimana paced the Martlets with 18 on 5-13 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 8 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Stephanie Guinois-Cote notched 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc and 3 boards. Alexandra Kiss-Rusk added 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 11 boards, 5 assists and 2 blocks. Marie-Love Michel added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Charlotte Clayton scored 7 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc and 2 steals. Frederique Potvin added 6 on 2-9 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 2 boards. Geraldine Cabillo-Abante added 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 assists, while Chiso Ufondi, Maggy Chabot, Van-Leap Sry, Ruth Tshikudi-Tshila and Kamsi Ogbudibe were scoreless. Ufondu and Ogbudibe each nabbed 2 boards. The Martlets hit 22-71 (.310) from the floor, 11-36 (.306) from the arc and 8-8 from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 7 steals, 3 blocks, 15 turnovers and 18 fouls. The Martlets (coached by Ryan Thorne, assisted by Helen Magadalinos, Bayonne Taty and Francoise Charest, doctor Andrea Dolan, therapist Laura Abbatiello) also included Stephanie Mondou, Kiana Scantlebury and Darnelle Noel.
In the final, the Carleton Ravens captured their first national women’s title by dusting the Saskatchewan Huskies 69-48. The Huskies led 15-9 after one quarter as Summer Masikewich dominated the paint. But Catherine Traer ignited a 10-2 run that drew the Ravens to within 25-24 at the half. Sabine Dukate hit a trey to give the Huskies a 28-26 lead early in the third quarter but Gilmore lowered the boom with a pair of treys. Traer hit another bucket and Cynthia Dupont notched an and-one to swing the momentum. The Ravens opened the final frame with a 17-2 run and romped. Carleton surrendered just 4 points over the first seven minutes of the final quarter. “It’s been a lot of hard work and I’m just relieved we were able to get it done,” said Carleton coach Taffe Charles. “And it feels special because of the girls we’ve got on this team. (Heather) Lindsay’s been with me for five years, Steph Carr’s been with me for five years. When we got them five years ago, I believed we could get here and for them to be able to experience this is unbelievable.” Charles told the Ottawa Sun that “I’m proud, a bit relieved. I’m happy to be able to share this moment with these ladies. It was blood, sweat and tears, a lot of sacrifices. I know I felt that when I was an assistant coach (with the Carleton men’s program) and we ended up being a champion. It’s just an awesome feeling. To see how proud and happy they were, I couldn’t be happier for them. We had a team we thought we could win, but sometimes it doesn’t come together. Sports is an awesome thing. This is about life — persevere, when things aren’t going your way, you have to figure out a way to get it done.” Charles added that the Ravens depth was critical. “We’ve been doing it all year. You need to be deep. If one person isn’t going, another person can help out. We’ve done that all year, it took a lot of pressure off.” Traer said “the thing with me is if I hit one shot, I’m so confident. Even if I miss, I know that’s my role – I have to shoot the ball, attack the basket and make some passes. I got some easy buckets in the first half and that really brings your confidence up. … It feels amazing, it’s the best feeling on earth to win this championship. I couldn’t be happier. It was a tough game, regardless of the score at the end. We were really, really focused defensively in the second half – we made sure they didn’t get any easy looks. We just tried to lock them down and I think we did a really, really good job as a team.” Heather Lindsay told Carleton online that “I don’t think it’s really hit me that I’m done yet. I’m really happy. We played a great game and had a great season, great career and it’s been really fun and I’m really proud to be a Raven.” Jenjen Abella said “honestly, our team killed it in the end. We knew we had to come out in the third quarter and all the emotions were high and just had to kill it in the end.” Stephanie Carr was left in tears. “The emotions, I could not contain myself, it’s insane. This is everything we worked for—me for five years and some of the girls as long as they’ve been here. It could not be happier. It’s the absolute perfect ending to my career. … Every girl went through their hardships to get here and it’s just a huge realization of our dreams and how strong we are as people and we can all overcome anything that life throws at us and achieve our goals.” Abella said “sacrifice … and motivation. It was our last time together and I’m happy we all did it together and we sacrificed a lot throughout this whole weekend.” As Abella, Lindsay and Traer put it: “It’s a fairytale ending.” Catherine Traer was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Summer Masikewich earned the laurels for the Huskies. Catherine Traer paced the Ravens with 21 on 7-19 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 4-7 from the line, 10 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Cynthia Dupont added 14 on 6-14 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Elizabeth Leblanc notched 12 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Nicole Gilmore scored 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Alyssa Cerino added 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 2 boards. Heather Lindsay notched 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 9 boards and 4 blocks. Stephanie Carr scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Jenjen Abella added 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists, while Madison Reid, Alexandra Trivieri, Emma Kiesekamp and Karyne Jolicouer were scoreless. Reid nabbed 4 boards. The Ravens hit 22-68 (.324) from the floor, 9-31 (.290) from the arc and 16-22 (.727) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 6 steals, 5 blocks, 8 turnovers and 20 fouls. Summer Masikewich paced the Huskies with 19 on 8-17 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 12 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Kyla Shand added 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Libby Epoch notched 8 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-8 from the line, 8 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Sabine Dukate added 3 on 1-12 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 3 boards. Megan Ahlstrom scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Megan Lindquist added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Kelsey Lalor scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor. Madeline Humbert added 1 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards, while Maya Olynyk and Brianne Fehr were scoreless. The Huskies hit 18-59 (.305) from the floor, 2-13 (.154) from the arc, 10-21 (.476) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks, 15 turnovers and 19 fouls.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Elizabeth Leblanc (Carleton); Alexandra Kiss-Rusk (McGill); Charlotte Kot (Regina); Summer Masikewich (Saskatchewan); and Catherine Traer (Carleton).
The bronze medalist Regina Cougars: Charlotte Kot; Michaela Kleisinger; Avery Pearce; Caitlin Zacharias; Kyia Giles; Sara Hubenig; Kyanna Giles; Alexi Rowden; Britton Belyk; Christina McCusker; Angela Bongomin; Lauryn Prokop; Carolina Goncalves; Faith Reid; coach Dave Taylor; assistant Fatih Akser; assistant Carly Graham; assistant Lindsay Ledingham
The silver medalist Saskatchewan Huskies: Maya Olynyk; Libby Epoch; Christy Fehr; Madeline Humbert; Brianna Fehr; Sabine Dukate; Megan Ahlstrom; Megan Lindquist; Kassidy Konkin; Summer Masikewich; Kelsey Lalor; Janaya Brown; Vera Crooks; Katriana Philipenko; Kyla Shand; coach Lisa Thomaidis; assistant Ali Fairbrother; assistant Megan Pinske; assistant Jacqueline Lavallee
The gold medalist Carleton Ravens: Catherine Traer; Elizabeth Leblanc; Heather Lindsay; Jenjen Abella; Nicole Gilmore; Cynthia Dupont; Stephanie Carr; Alexandra Trivieri; Jaclyn Ronson; Brianne Hamilton; Karyne Jolicoeur; Alyssa Cerino; Madison Reid; Emma Kiesekamp; Jacey Aikens; coach Taffe Charles; assistant Dave Malowski; assistant Sarah Kennedy; assistant Anthony Carter; assistant Eric Parthenais; therapist Lindsey Parent; strength & conditioning Nick Westcott