| (1) | Windsor | 81 | ||||||
| (8) | Wilfrid Laurier | 53 | Windsor | 65 | ||||
| (4) | McGill | 60 | Fraser Valley | 45 | Windsor | 71 | ||
| (5) | Fraser Valley | 74 | ||||||
| —–WINDSOR | ||||||||
| (2) | St. Mary’s | 71 | ||||||
| (7) | Alberta | 51 | St. Mary’s | 67 | St. Mary’s | 45 | ||
| (3) | Saskatchewan | 61 | Saskatchewan | 54 | ||||
| (6) | Queen’s | 52 |
SEEDING:
1. Windsor Lancers (OUA champions: 21-1 regular season / 3-0 playoffs / 33-1 v CIS)
2. Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champions: 20-0 regular season / 2-0 playoffs / 29-0 v CIS)
3. Saskatchewan Huskies (CWUAA champions: 17-5 regular season / 4-1 playoffs / 26-7 v CIS)
4. McGill Martlets (RSEQ champions: 13-3 regular season / 2-0 playoffs / 19-4 v CIS)
5. Fraser Valley Cascades (CWUAA finalists: 17-5 regular season / 3-1 playoffs / 26-8 v CIS)
6. Queen’s Gaels (OUA finalists: 16-6 regular season / 2-1 playoffs / 25-11 v CIS)
7. Alberta Pandas (CWUAA bronze medalists and wild card: 20-2 regular season / 3-1 playoffs / 32-4 v CIS)
8. Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (OUA bronze medalists: 15-7 regular season / 3-1 playoffs / 23-13 v CIS)
The 2nd-seeded Saint Mary’s Huskies pounded the 7th-seeded Alberta Pandas 71-51. Despite two-time CIS player of the year Justine Colley spending only 16 minutes on the court because of early foul trouble, Saint jumped out to a commanding 25-7 lead after the first quarter and dominated the second frame 21-8 to go into halftime ahead by 46-15. “It’s definitely not the way we drew this one up,” said Saint Mary’s coach Scott Munro. I was definitely expecting Justine to play way more than she did. But other players stepped up. We took advantage of many open looks early and were able to build a healthy lead. Alberta is a good basketball team. These things happen. They’ve been a top five team in the country all year and I absolutely still believe they’re worthy of those rankings.” Alberta coach Scott Edwards told the Edmonton Sun that “first of all, credit to Saint Mary’s. They came out and played their game and hit some shots early that rattled our team. It was pretty disappointing to have that kind of result in our biggest game of the year.” The second-highest ranked offence in the country were quick out of the gate, starting the game with an explosive 9-2 run that prompted a timeout from Edwards. After dropping her first basket of the contest, Coward notched a running lay-in to help the Huskies build their early lead. Colley earned her only field goal of the game soon after with a mid-range jumper. After Coward sank a three-pointer, the Huskies forced an Alberta turnover and Jameson made them pay, sinking another jumper from beyond the arc. The St. John’s, Nfld. native converted another quick lay-up in transition, helping the No. 2 seed take a commanding 25-7 lead after one quarter of play. Jameson continued to stay hot in the second, recording the first three points of the quarter with another long-ranger. Kelly Lyons responded by using some quick handy work under the Huskies basket, fighting off some heavy Saint Mary’s defensive pressure to earn a lay-up for the Canada West bronze-medalists. But that did little to stymie the Huskies offensive wave throughout the rest of the opening half of play. Carvery and Carlie Nugent tallied consecutive three-pointers, and Jameson’s long deep corner two solidified a dominant first half. Andrea Carlyon looked to create a spark for the Pandas at the start of the second half, picking up a basket while taking a foul and converting the ensuing free-throw. Carlyon and Megan Van de Kraats then both got to the foul line on consecutive possessions but combined to go just 1-of-4. Saskia Van Ginhoven helped the Alberta cause with a strong penetration inside for two more points, but the Pandas still faced a 30-point deficit at the midway point of the third. The AUS champs continued to maintain their healthy spread into the final quarter. Huskie guard Angelina Carvery was chosen player of the game. Angelina Carvery paced the Huskies with 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Rachelle Coward added 12 on 5-13 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Emily Jameson notched 10 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 6 boards and 3 assists. Katrina Murrell added 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 4 boards. Carlie Nugent scored 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Justine Colley scored 7 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 5 boards. Laura Langille scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Becky Nash scored 4 on 2-8 from the floor and 4 boards. Alexandra Smye added 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 3 boards, while Batoul Kababji was scoreless. The Huskies hit 27-69 (.391) from the floor, 7-24 (.292) from the arc and 10-16 (.625) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 12 turnovers and 20 fouls. Andria Carlyon paced Alberta with 12 on 3-10 from the floor, 6-11 from the line, 11 boards and 2 blocks. Saskia Van Ginhoven added 10 on 3-6 from the floor and 4-6 from the line. Megan Van de Kraats notched 7 on 2-8 from the floor, 3-8 from the line and 3 boards. Sally Hillier added 6 on 1-4 from the floor and 0-2 from the line. Kelly Lyons added 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the line and 5 boards. Renee Byrne added 4 on 2-8 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Elle Hendershot notched 4 on 2-2 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 5 boards. Sarah Binns added on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 2 assists, while Jessilyn Fairbanks, Maddie Rogers and Erin Mackinnon were scoreless. Fairbanks nabbed 6 boards and dished 5 assists. Rogers nabbed 2 boards and dished 2 assists. Alberta hit 18-57 (.316) from the floor, 1-12 (.083) from the arc and 14-32 (.438) from the link, while garnering 47 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 5 steals, 7 blocks, 15 turnovers and 13 fouls.
The 3rd-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies held off the 6th-seeded Queen’s Golden Gaels 61-52. “I’m not surprised at all by how close this game was. I have so much respect for (Queen’s coach) Dave (Wilson) and his program. They’re a team that puts a lot of pressure on you, they’re relentless,” said Saskatchewan coach Lisa Thomaidis. “I’m proud of the way our team managed to stay in the game and grind out this win. We showed a lot of character today.” Wilson, in his 32nd season at the helm of the Gaels, thought his team was a few possessions away from pulling off the upset. “We had a number of opportunities to build the lead substantially and couldn’t capitalize on that and we couldn’t keep the pace that we would have liked to have kept in that fourth quarter. This has been a team of character all year and they have a lot of pride in the efforts they put into the game so they will come out very hard tomorrow and we will give Alberta all that they can handle.” The game got off to a torrid start. Back-to-back treys by Kiera Lyons and Riley Humbert of Saskatchewan was answered with two long-rangers by Liz Boag early on. The Huskies turned over the ball on three-straight possessions midway through the quarter, and the Gaels took a slight 10-8 lead. However, Kabree Howard responded with a bucket and made foul shot for a three-point play to put Saskatchewan back in front. Kelsey Trulsrud hit a three and Antoinette Miller drained two of her free throws after the Gaels moved into the penalty with their fifth foul of the period. However, Boag continued to carry her squad through the opening quarter, taking the ball end-to-end and finishing with a running floater down the middle of the key to draw the Gaels within 18-15 after one quarter. The Gaels tightened up defensively in the first few minutes of the second, holding Saskatchewan pointless in the opening minutes. A three-pointer from Jenny Wright at the 7:01 mark was followed by a Gemma Bullard jumper off the glass, putting the Gaels up by four. Meanwhile, the Huskies picked up their first points of the second after a 5:12 drought as Trulsrud hit a running lay-up while taking a foul. After she made her free-throw Antoinette Miller penetrated through the Gaels defence for an athletic lay-in to help awaken the Saskatchewan offence. A three-pointer by Howard and running jumper by Trulsrud briefly restored the Canada West silver-medalist’s lead. However, Boag persevered, using her speed to earn another trip to the foul-line while picking up two points as Queen’s took a 31-28 lead at the half. Abby Dixon gave Queen’s a six-point advantage midway through the third-quarter with her first points of the game, a basket from beyond the arc. She then scored on an open lay-up following a quick transition play from the Gaels. The OUA finalists were looking to extend their lead late in the third, as they held the ball on one sole possession for the final 2:12 of the period. After a strange series of events, including five offensive boards, a Saskatchewan foul and kick-ball as well as a jump-ball which went the way of the Gaels, Emily Hazlett hit a jumper with two seconds remaining to give Queen’s a 43-37 lead at the end of three quarters. Trulsrud brought the Huskies back to within a single possession after hitting a contested lay-up. She added two foul shots as the momentum started to swing in Saskatchewan’s favour. A strong rejection from Dalyce Emerson led to a Riley Humbert basket that gave the Huskies their first lead of the second half. Trulsrud continued her strong play late in the game, stealing a Queen’s pass attempt before Miller hit a tough jumper with the shot clock running out, extending Saskatchewan’s lead. After a Gaels miss, Howard converted two free throws with just over 30 seconds remaining. Wright and Boag both missed the target on their long-range attempts in an effort to bring the Gaels within striking distance, allowing the Huskies to pull away for the victory. Kelsey Trulsrud was chosen player of the game. Trulsrud paced the Huskies with 22 on 7-12 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 15 boards and 2 steals. Kabree Howard added 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line,2 boards and 7 assists. Antoinette Miller added 11 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 7 boards. Kiera Lyons added 7 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Riley Humbert notched 6 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Dalyce Emmerson added 2 on 0-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 11 boards and 2 blocks. Taya Keujer added 1, while Desarae Hogberg, Megan Lindquist and Jordyn Halvorson were scoreless. The Huskies hit 17-53 (.321) from the floor, 5-19 (.263) from the arc and 22-29 (.759) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 17 turnovers and 16 fouls. Liz Boag paced the Gaels’ with 18 on 6-19 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Jenny Wright added 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 6 boards and 3 steals. Emily Hazlett scored 7 on 2-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Abby Dixon added 5 on 2-7 from the floor and 1-4 from the arc. Robyn Pearson notched 4 on 2-16 from the floor and 5 boards. Gemma Bullard added 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Andrea Priamo added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards, while Meaghan Macdougall, Maria Gill and Nicole Morse were scoreless. Morse nabbed 4 boards and Macdougall 2. The Gaels hit 18-72 (.250) from the floor, 5-17 (.194) from the arc and 11-16 (.688) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 8 steals, 8 turnovers and 27 fouls.
The top-seeded Windsor Lancers stomped the 8th-seeded Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 81-53 on a dominant performance by 2nd-team All-Canadian guard Miah-Marie Langlois. “We have such a deep and experienced lineup, on any given night, someone can step up. I guess tonight it was my night,” said Langlois. “We never take any game or any team for granted. But on the other hand, we’ve been there before. Myself, I’ve been doing this for five years. So, in a sense, even though it’s the national championship, it’s just another basketball game.” Lancers coach Chantal Vallee said “we’ve been waiting for this night for a year, really, because we knew we were hosting. So, it’s good to get that first one out of the way. I’m very, very pleased with what I saw tonight.” Golden Hawks coach Paul Falco said “Windsor played really well out of the gate. They jumped on us and we had a really hard time stopping them in the first quarter.” The Lancers went up 10-2 within a couple of minutes after tip-off, as Jocelyn LaRocque’s three-pointer was followed by another long-ranger from Jessica Clemencon. Langlois then notched a couple of running lay-ups, using her speed to penetrate through the Golden Hawks defence. The duo of Langlois and Clemencon combined for 20 points in the period, helping Windsor to a 29-13 lead. The Golden Hawks were able to find their legs in the second quarter, while Windsor’s offence dropped off, though they still maintained a 43-25 edge heading into the locks. Laurier opened the second half with a 6-1 run capped by a pair of free throws from Bree Chaput to draw within 13. But Korissa Williams answered with a pair of transition layups and Windsor then brought full-court pressure and converted on a couple of Hawks turnovers to further pad their lead. Caitlyn Longmuir’s second three-pointer of the third gave the tournament hosts a 68-38 lead after three quarters and they coasted to the easy win. Miah-Marie Langlois paced Windsor with 30 on 11-15 from the floor, 4-4 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 7 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Jessica Clemencon added 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 7 boards and 3 blocks. Korissa Williams notched 10 on 3-9 from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 10 boards and 4 assists. Anna Mullins added 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Jocelyn Larocque notched 6 on 2-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Caitlyn Longmuir scored 6 on 2-5 from the arc and 4 assists. Tessa Kreiger added 2, along with 2 boards, Andrea Kiss 2, Cheyanne Roger 2, along with 3 boards and 4 assists, and Emily Prevost 1, while Kristine Lalonde and Kim Moroun were scoreless. Maroun nabbed 6 boards. The Lancers hit 29-59 (.492) from the floor, 12-21 (.571) from the arc and 11-20 (.550) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 5 steals, 6 blocks, 18 turnovers and 19 steals. Whitney Ellenor paced Laurier with 11 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Bree Chaput added 10 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 blocks. Laura Doyle scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 blocks. Samantha Jacobs notched 6 on 3-8 from the floor and 5 boards. Doreen Bonsu scored 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 2 boards. Kimberley Yeldon added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Alexandra Spadaro added 4 on 2-6 from the floor and 2 steals. Kaitlyn Schenck notched 3 on 3-4 from the line. Lee Anna Osei added 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Nicole Morrison, Courtney Bruce and Heather Payne were scoreless. Morrison pilfered 2 balls. Bruce nabbed 2 boards and dished 4 assists. The Golden Hawks hit 20-58 (.345) from the floor, 0-4 from the arc and 13-21 (.619) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 9 steals, 3 blocks, 12 turnovers and 20 fouls.
In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Fraser Valley Cascades dumped the 4th-seeded McGill Martlets 74-60. “It’s exciting. You know we’ve been to two regionals and gone 0-1 and 0-1 and last year was 0-2 at nationals which was disappointing for everybody,” said Cascades coach Al Tuchscherer. “We wanted to come in this year with a little bit different approach to how we prepared and how we carried ourselves and I thought tonight was a good game and it was pretty business-like for us. We’ve got our work cut out for us tomorrow for sure. I thought our ball movement was fantastic in the first half and defensively we forced a lot of tough shots. We started to kind of glaze over a little bit in that third quarter and they came at us super hard. All our time-outs, all our quarter time-outs, were just talking to the girls about relaxing and just having confidence in what we do and just finding something to make it happen. They did, so I’m really proud of them. McGill pulled within two at one point and we got some big baskets down the stretch, and that’s a big veteran effort for us.” McGill coach Ryan Thorne said “they just outplayed us, plain and simple. Especially early on. I was a bit concerned about their size and physical play. They did a good job a creating open looks. I’m proud of our effort to come all the way back to within two points in the fourth. Unfortunately, mounting that comeback took a lot out of us and we just ran out of energy a little. Meanwhile, they had had a chance to rest some players, so they were fresher at the end.” The Cascades opened with an 8-0 run. Martlet guard Dianna Ros countered with a trey but Kiev, Ukraine-native Nataliia Gavryliuk responded with a jumper of her own from beyond the arc, giving Fraser Valley its first double-digit lead. They maintained that spread until the final minute when Hélène Bibeau converted a corner three, cutting the lead down to 21-12 after one quarter. Tessa Hart opened the second with three-point basket, but first-team CIS all-Canadian Mariam Sylla responded with some strong physical play in the post, picking up a lay-in off the glass while taking some punishment. After converting her free-throw, the Conakry, Guinea native stuffed a Cascades attempt. Ros drained another three soon after, cutting the deficit down to eight. But second-team Canada West all-star Aieisha Luyken dropped her second three-pointer in less than two minutes following a McGill turnover. Sylla notched a putback coming out of a timeout but Gavryliuk hit two more long-range jumpers as UFV spread its advantage to 18. McGill rallied within 42-29 at the half. Kayli Sartori opened the second-half with a corner trey for the Cascades. After a rejection from Sarah Wierks on Sylla, Gavryliuk hit another trey. Bibeau answered with her own three and Ros nailed a mid-range jumper, before the Martlets ripped off an 8-0 run to drawn within 53-37 after three quarters. Courtney Bartel snapped McGill’s run at the beginning of the fourth, but Carolann Cloutier responded with a trey for the Martlets. Bartel connected on an off-balance jumper, while Ros picked up her own rebound off a missed shot and stepped back from the arc to sink a basket. Soon after Bibeau was fouled on her three-point attempt and calmly made all of her shots from the line to bring the Martlets within four at the 6:48 mark. After a Cascades timeout, Sylla tallied a put-back off her teammates miss, but UFV answered with three straight points of their own to give themselves a bit more breathing room. A critical three by Luyken pushed the lead back up to nine, and then a Martlet turnover resulted in another Cascade bucket. The Martlet offence slowed through the last minutes of the second half, as they failed to make a basket for over four minutes after scoring 10 points in less than four minutes to open the final quarter. UFV capitalized, re-establishing their double-digit spread, and then coasted to the win. Luyken was chosen player of the game after scoring 20 on 5-13 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 6 boards and 6 assists. Nataliia Gavryliuk added 17 on 6-17 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Kayli Sartori scored 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-10 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Sarah Wierks added 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 11 boards and 5 blocks. Nicole Wierks added 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 assists. Courtney Bartel added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Kaitlyn Brink added 4 on 1-3 from the floor and 2-4 from the line. Tessa Hart added 3 on 1-1 from the floor, while Shayna Litman and Celeste Dyck were scoreless. Litman nabbed 3 boards. The Cascades hit 25-59 (.424) from the floor, 9-22 (.409) from the arc and 15-28 (.536) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 6 steals, 9 blocks, 14 turnovers and 15 fouls. Mariam Sylla paced McGill with 17 on 7-14 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 11 boards. Helene Bibeau added 16 on 5-13 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Dianna Ros added 13 on 5-16 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 5 boards and 6 assists. Francoise Charest notched 6 on 1-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Marie-Pier Bastrash added 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Carolann Cloutier added 2 on 1-5 from the floor and 4 boards. Tiye Traore added 2, while Gabriela Hebert, Kizzy Clarke, Roya Assadi and Valerie L’Ecuyer were scoreless. Clark nabbed 5 boards and pilfered 2 balls. Hebert nabbed 4 boards. The Martlets hit 21-78 (.269) from the floor, 7-28 (.250) from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line, while garnering 56 boards, including 28 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 17 turnovers and 23 fouls.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Saint Mary’s Huskies clipped the 3rd-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies 67-54. “We’re ecstatic to be in the national final,” said two-time national player of the year Justine Colley. “Tonight, was just one of those games where everything seemed to fall into place for me. But first and foremost, it was a total team effort. And we’ll need another good performance like that tomorrow.” Huskies coach Scott Munro said “we made some adjustments at the half. I thought we were sharper on defence in the second half. I’ve seen Justine have a number of great games over the years, but not many better than this one. They say your best players need to be your best players in big games, and that’s what she did today.” Saint Mary’s improved its unblemished record to 31-0 against CIS opponents. “We played a very solid first half, we were obviously pleased to go into the break with the lead,” said Saskatchewan coach Lisa Thomaidis. “They went on a run early in the second half and we just couldn’t stop them. Justine is a great player, and she proved it again tonight. Hats off to Saint Mary’s. They deserve to be in the final.” The semi got off to an explosive start with the teams combining for 25 points in the opening five minutes of play. Colley tallied five of her team’s first 12 points, while Kabree Howard did the same for Saskatchewan. Dalyce Emmerson heated up, hitting consecutive lay-ins to put the Canada West champions up by five with three minutes to play in the opening stanza. The Canada West first-team all-star denied an SMU attempt and proceeded to sink both her foul shots after taking some harm under the basket to help increase the lead. But six quick points from the AUS title-holders, four of which came from Colley, brought them back within a single point. The fellow first-team CIS all-Canadians went basket-for-basket soon after, as an Emmerson lay-in from the post was followed by another Colley jumper. Saskatchewan led 23-20 after one quarter. Colley went on a tear late in the half, hitting back-to-back floating jumpers to bring her team back within a point of Saskatchewan. After the East Preston, N.S. native drained her third basket in a row off a turnover to even the game at 32-32. A trey by Rachelle Coward with under a minute remaining in the half put SMU back in front but Emmerson answered with a bucket to put Saskatchewan up 36-35 at the break. The Prince Albert, Sask. native found Humbert with a back-door bounce pass for an easy lay-in, and followed that with a rebound and put-back on Saskatchewan’s next possession to give them a three-point lead. Emerson took a great no-look pass from Howard for the easy lay-in, increasing their lead to five. Colley responded with a steal and fast-break lay-up, starting a 10-0 run for SMU. Coward swung a three-point basket and Becky Nash grabbed two more points before Emmerson nailed two foul shots to halt the Saint Mary’s streak. But Colley would not be denied in the final minutes of the third, netting seven straight points as SMU went on a 22-3 run to take a 56-45 lead after three quarters. Coward opened the final period with a three to push the lead to 14, and Colley converted another three-point play. Desarae Hogberg hit a three in an attempt to bring Saskatchewan back into the contest but turned the ball over to Colley on her next possession, who maintained SMU’s double-digit lead. The Huskies coasted to the win. Justine Colley was chosen player of the game after scoring 38 on 15-26 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 5-10 from the line, 9 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Rachelle Coward added 15 on 6-19 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 8 boards, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Laura Langille added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 12 boards and 2 assists. Becky Nash notched 4 on 2-6 from the floor. Katrina Murrell added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards, while Angelina Carvery was scoreless on 0-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Emily Jameson was scoreless on 0-3 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc. Saint Mary’s hit 27-66 (.409) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 6-12 from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 7 steals, 5 blocks, 8 turnovers and 16 fouls. Dalyce Emmerson paced Saskatchewan with 23 on 9-14 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 12 boards and 4 blocks. Kabree Howard added 9 on 2-13 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Riley Humbert notched 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Kiera Lyons added 5 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Jordyn Halvorson added 3 on 0-1 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 3 boards. Desarae Hogberg notched 3 on 1-6 from the floor and 1-5 from the arc. Antoinette Miller scored 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 6 boards and 2 steals. Kelsey Trulsrud added 1 on 0-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Saskatchewan hit 17-57 (.298) from the floor, 5-18 (.178) from the arc and 15-18 (.833) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocks.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Windsor Lancers dusted the 5th-seeded Fraser Valley Cascades 65-45. The defending champs had to grind it out against Fraser Valley as they trailed 25-24 at halftime after shooting only 19.4 per cent in the first half. “We played them twice earlier this season so we knew they were a good team. We weren’t surprised at all they gave us a good battle,” said Windsor guard Jocelyn LaRocque. “We weren’t too worried about shots not dropping. We were just saying as a group keep shooting, and if they don’t go in, we’ll just rebound like crazy. We knew if we kept shooting at some point they were going to drop.” Lancers coach Chantal Vallée said “maybe it was a little nerve, I don’t know. If we didn’t score, we wanted to make sure they weren’t scoring either. Fortunately, I have a team that’s mature enough that no one was going to panic. It’s our fifth straight national final and it’s still as exciting. It’s going to be quite a basketball game against Saint Mary’s.” The teams combined to go 4-18 in the opening five minutes. A steal by CIS all-rookie Cheyanne Roger led to a jumper from Miah-Marie Langlois. Following another Cascades turnover, Korissa Williams picked up two points while being fouled and Jocelyn LaRocque dropped a trey after Windsor got an offensive rebound off of Williams’ missed free throw, doubling their advantage. Nicole Wierks did some tough work in the post to earn a pair of trips to the foul-line where she sunk all four of her respective free-throws. The Lancers led 18-10 after one quarter. UFV opened the second with a fast-break by Kayli Sartori, starting a strong 14-2 run. Nataliia Gavryliuk hit a top-corner three to keep the Cascades momentum going, while the three-time champion Lancers had a couple of offensive miscues and went cold through the opening five minutes of the second. Another lay-up by Sartori put the Cascades ahead by four with under five to play in the half. After a five-minute drought, Langlois finally scored Windsor’s third and fourth point of the second at the 2:08 mark. The Lancers then brought full-court pressure and forced five UFV turnovers in the last two minutes of the half, and cut the deficit to 25-24 at the break. LaRocque took her third charge of the game early in the third quarter and hit a corner trey to put Windsor ahead 29-28. The Windsor native sunk another three from the opposite corner on the Lancers next possession, giving them a five-point advantage. The contest took a chippy turn late in the third as a number of physical battles dialed up the intensity heading into the final quarter of play with the defending champions leading 38-30. The Lancers took command in the fourth after elevating their defensive intensity. Sartori hit a couple of free-throws to begin the final period in an effort to awaken the Cascade offence. But Clemencon came to life with back-to-back buckets. Sophomore guard Caitlyn Longmuir added a trey to boost the lead to Courtney Bartel and Nicole Wierks tried to stem the Windsor wave, each sinking a trey in the final minutes of play. But Longmuir answered with her second and third treys of the quarter, pushing the game out of UFV’s reach. “We were playing an outstanding team more than anything,” said UFV coach Al Tuchscherer. “They can beat you in a number of different ways and I thought we made a few pretty good adjustments throughout the game that neutralized some of their weapons, but those weapons came alive as the game went on. They’re good, they’re an outstanding team. I thought our defence was really solid for three quarters. We played a lot of zone tonight which we don’t particularly play a lot, and I thought we shifted well into that defensive mindset for much of the game.” Lancer guard Miah-Marie Langlois was chosen player of the game after scoring 20 on 7-18 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 4 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Jessica Clemencon added 18 on 5-17 from the floor, 8-10 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Caitlyn Longmuir notched 9 on 3-9 from the arc and 2 assists. Jocelyn Larocque scored 9 on 3-14 from the floor, 3-13 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 steals. Korissa Williams added 5 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the line, 11 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Tessa Kreiger added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards. Cheyanne Roger added 2 on 0-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Kristine Lalonde, Andrea Kiss, Kim Maroun and Anna Mullins were scoreless. Moroun nabbed 2 boards. The Lancers hit 21-77 (.273) from the floor, 6-28 (.214) from the arc and 17-21 (.810) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 14 steals, 2 blocks, 17 turnovers and 12 fouls. Nicole Wierks paced the Cascades with 17 on 5-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Nataliia Gavryliuk added 8 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Kayli Sartori notched 6 on 2-10 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Courtney Bartel added 5 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Aieisha Luyken notched 4 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Sarah Wierks scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 11 boards and 3 blocks. Celeste Dyck scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards. Kaitlyn Brink was scoreless on 0-1 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 3 boards. The Cascades hit 15-51 (.294) from the floor, 3-19 (.158) from the arc and 12-16 (.750) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 4 steals, 7 blocks and 31 turnovers.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Fraser Valley Cascades clipped the 3rd-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies 69-57. “I’m just really proud of the squad and we played our best basketball of the season this weekend,” said Cascades coach Al Tuchscherer. “We had the opportunity to play three top quality programs and just had a great experience in Windsor. I’m really happy for our seniors, it’s such an awesome way for them to finish.” The top teams in the Canada West conference traded baskets through the first five minutes of the contest with FVU garnering a 7-6 lead at the 5:22 mark. The evenly-matched play continued for the rest of the opening quarter, after which the Huskies led 13-12. Kelsey Trulsrud made a great defensive play with just under seven minutes to play in the half, leaping to steal a Cascades pass and finding an open teammate to arc a pass to before she fell out of bounds. Back-to-back running jumpers by Keira Lyons gave Saskatchewan a three-point lead soon after, but two foul shots by Sarah Wierks and a baseline jumper by Aieisha Luyken helped Fraser Valley keep pace. UFV took over the lead late in the half but a timely three by Kabree Howard brought the Huskies even. Both squads heated up in the final minutes of the second, and a final three-pointer by Kayli Sartori gave UFV a 30-27 lead at the half. After Riley Humbert quickly evened the game, Nataliia Gavryliuk responded with a second trey less than a minute into the second-half to restore Fraser Valley’s lead. UFV went on to score 10 straight points in the middle portion of the third, ending with a three from Bartel to take a nine-point lead. After Antoinette Miller broke Saskatchewan’s scoreless streak, the Chilliwack, B.C. native drained another, to help the Cascades take a commanding 55-40 lead going into the fourth quarter. Dalyce Emmerson recorded a lay-up bucket and the Huskies scored the first six points of the final stanza to bring the deficit down to single-digits. Trulsrud made a strong penetration for the lay-up bucket to help spur Saskatchewan’s comeback bid, but UFV responded by making four straight free-throws and getting baskets from Gavryliuk and Kaitlyn Brink to hold an 11-point lead at the 4:02 mark. The Huskies were unable to rally any closer. Cascades forward Kayli Sartori was chosen player of the game after scoring 13 on 5-15 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Courtney Bartel added 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Nataliia Gavryliuk added 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Nicole Wierks added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Aieisha Luyken added 8 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards and 5 assists. Shayna Litman added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 6 boards. Sarah Wierks added 6 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 7 boards. Kaitlyn Brink added 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Tessa hart and Celeste Dyck were scoreless. The Cascades hit 23-64 (.359) from the floor, 8-17 (.471) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 9 turnovers and 14 fouls. Kiera Lyons paced the Huskies with 18 on 7-16 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Dalyce Emmerson added 16 on 8-18 from the floor, 0-1 from the line, 6 boards and 2 blocks. Riley Humbert scored 7 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Kelsey Trulsrud notched 6 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 9 boards and 2 steals. Kabree Howard added 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists. Antoinette Miller added 2 on 1-5 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Jordyn Halvorson added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Desarae Hogberg and Taya Keujer were scoreless. Hogberg nabbed 2 boards. The Huskies hit 23-64 (.359) from the floor, 5-23 (.217) from the arc and 6-10 from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 12 turnovers and 17 fouls.
In the final, the top-seeded Windsor Lancers stomped the 2nd-seeded Saint Mary’s Huskies 71-45 to capture their fourth consecutive Bronze Baby. The Lancers ended the season on a 27-game winning streak, including regular season and playoff games, while extending their post-season run to 15 games dating back to the 2010-11 year. “It never gets old,” said Windsor coach Chantal Vallée. “I’m so proud of the girls. We were facing an outstanding basketball team today, a very talented offensive team, and to come up with that kind of effort, I tip my hat off to our players. I couldn’t be more proud of each and everyone one of them.” Tournament MVP Miah-Marie Langlois said “our defence was amazing today. That’s really what made the difference in the game. What a way to finish my university career. I’ll never forget those moments with all the girls, those I played with for five years like Jessica. There are no words to describe it.” The Saint Mary’s Huskies had their 31-game winning streak snapped, but finish a superb season with their best-ever result at a CIS Final 8 in just their third national tournament appearance, improving upon their bronze-medal finish in 2013. “Hats off to Windsor. They’re a great, great program. Very deserving of all their championships. They were the better team tonight. They took us out of what we wanted to do,” said Huskies coach Scott Munro. “We still had a great season, the best in program history. We only had one loss all season, unfortunately it was tonight. With some distance, we’ll appreciate the season as a whole.” Miah-Marie Langlois and Jessica Clemencon connected for an easy bucket to start the contest. After Angela Carvery dropped a trey for the Huskies, Clemencon shook off some aggressive Huskies defence using a quick spin-move to notch her second lay-up of the game. The 2011 BLG Award winner as CIS female player of the year would score Windsor’s first six points. Langlois then penetrated the Huskies defence for a lay-up, but Justine Colley quickly grabbed the ball off the in-bounds pass and drove down the court, forcing a Lancers foul. She hit 1-2 to bring Saint Mary’s within two. Langlois hit a two-point bucket from mid-range and then forced a Saint Mary’s turnover. Williams connected on Windsor’s ensuing possession, doubling the Lancers lead. Sophomore guard Caitlyn Longmuir then drained a buzzer-beating trey to give Windsor a 17-9 lead after one quarter. Colley took the ball end-to-end on consecutive possessions to bring SMU within five early in the second period. But after the Lancers responded with four quick points, both offences slowed as the first half came down to its final couple of minutes. Langlois finally scored a mid-range jumper to end the scoring drought, and the Lancers would end the half with a 9-2 run, topped by a Jocelyn LaRocque trey, to take a 30-16 at the half. LaRocque continued to frustrate Coward, drawing another charging call on the SMU rookie guard, negating the Huskies first possession of the second-half. After Clemencon dropped a trey, Colley turned over the ball, leading to a transition lay-up from Williams. Clemencon soon gave the Lancers a 20-point lead. Becky Nash sank a baseline jumper for the Huskies, but Williams came up with an acrobatic play to keep the ball in play after a Windsor rebound looked like it was heading out of bounds. Kristine Lalonde notched a lay-in after Williams’ great play to keep the Windsor momentum alive. Longmuir hit another three and CIS all-rookie Cheyanne Roger followed that with a lay-up to spread the lead up to 26 with just over three minutes left in the third. Colley answered with a bucket and after forcing a turnover, found Coward for a trey and then hit a fade-away jumper to cut the lead to 20. The Lancers led 49-31 after three quarters. Clemencon and Williams began the fourth with two points each and Windsor went up by 24 early in the period. Laura Langille answered for the Huskies with four-straight points. After another Windsor trey, Colley garnered a well-earned trip to the foul line while sinking a tough, running jumper. A LaRocque trey with 1:12 remaining put a cap on the contest. Lancer post Jessica Clemencon was chosen player of the game after scoring 19 on 9-21 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 7 boards and 5 assists. Jocelyn Larocque added 15 on 5-14 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Korissa Williams added 14 on 7-14 from the floor, 0-2 from the line, 12 boards and 4 assists. Miah-Marie Langlois added 8 on 3-14 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Caitlyn Longmuir added 6 on 2-3 from the floor. Kristine Lalonde added 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the line and 3 boards. Tessa Kreiger added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, 10 boards and 2 blocks. Cheyanne Roger added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 9 boards. Kim Maroun added 1, while Andrea Kiss, Anna Mullins and Emily Prevost were scoreless. Justine Colley paced the Huskies with 20 on 7-18 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-9 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Rachelle Coward added 8 on 3-16 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Angelina Carvery added 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Katrina Murrell notched 4 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 steals. Laura Langille added 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 5 boards. Becky Nash added 3 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-2 from the line, while Alexandra Smye, Carlie Nugent, Batoul Kababji and Emily Jameson were scoreless. The Huskies hit 17-58 (.293) from the floor, 3-17 (.176) from the arc and 8-15 (.533) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 7 steals, 3 blocks, 12 turnovers and 18 fouls.
The all-tourney team featured MVP Miah-Marie Langlois (Windsor); Jessica Clemençon (Windsor); Justine Colley (Saint Mary’s); Rachelle Coward (Saint Mary’s); Kayli Sartori (Fraser Valley)
The bronze medalist Fraser Valley Cascades: Nataliia Gavryliuk, Kendra Arnold, Aieisha Luyken, Courtney Bartel, Sarah Wierks, Kaitlyn McDonald, Kayli Sartori, Shayna Litman, Tessa Hart, Nicole Wierks, Celeste Dyck, Kaitlyn Brink, Hailey Kendall, Samantha Kurath, Jaslyen Singh, Sara Kurath, coach Al Tuchscherer, assistant Anthony Luyken, assistant Alexa McCarthy, assistant Sean Bosko
The silver medalist Saint Mary’s Huskies: Alexandra Smye; Justine Colley; Angelina Carvery; Katrina Murrell; Rachelle Coward; Carlie Nugent; Batoul Kababji; Jessica Sundblad; Laura Langille; Emily Jameson; Becky Nash; coach Scott Munro; assistant Mark Ross; assistant Les Berry
The champion Windsor Lancers: Caitlyn Longmuir; Kristine LaLonde; Korissa Williams; Andrea Kiss; Kim Moroun; Miah-Marie Langlois; Jessica Clemencon; Jocelyn LaRocque; Cheyanne Roger; Tessa Kreiger; Anna Mullins; Emily Prevost; coach Chantal Vallee; assistant Tom Foster; assistant Josh Leeman; assistant Mike Gibbala; assistant Lucas Reindler