| (1) | Laval | 73 | ||||||
| (8) | Ryerson | 51 | Laval | 60 | ||||
| (4) | Ottawa | 65 | Ottawa | 56 | Laval | 58 | ||
| (5) | Regina | 63 | ||||||
| —–McMASTER | ||||||||
| (2) | McMaster | 86 | ||||||
| (7) | Concordia | 68 | McMaster | 73 | McMaster | 70 | ||
| (3) | Saskatchewan | 77 | Saskatchewan | 66 | ||||
| (6) | Acadia | 69 |
SEEDING
1. Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ champions: 15-1 regular season / 2-0 playoffs / 26-1 v CIS)
2. McMaster Marauders (OUA champs: 21-3 regular season / 3-0 playoffs / 28-5 v CIS)
3. Saskatchewan Huskies (Canada West champions: 16-4 regular season / 5-0 playoffs / 25-5 v CIS)
4. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA runner-up: 21-2 regular season / 2-1 playoffs / 29-6 v CIS)
5. Regina Cougars (Canada West runner-up: 17-3 regular season / 4-1 playoffs / 29-7 v CIS)
6. Acadia Axewomen (AUS champs: 13-7 regular season / 3-0 playoffs / 18-11 v CIS)
7. Concordia Stingers (RSEQ semifinalist – wild card / 10-6 regular season / 1-1 playoffs / 20-8 v CIS)
8. Ryerson Rams (Host – OUA quarterfinalist: 17-6 regular season / 1-1 playoffs / 25-7 v CIS)
In the quarterfinals, held at Ryerson University in Toronto, the 2nd-seeded McMaster Marauders thrashed the 7th-seeded Concordia Stingers 86-68. The Marauders broke to a 26-19 lead after one quarter on crisp ball movement and timely perimeter shooting, including a trey at the buzzer by Julia Hanaka. They extended the margin to 44-28 at the half as Sarah Gates kept draining treys (four in the half). “For a second-year player, being able to score the way (Gates) does is really incredible and when you think that we have her for three more years, and she is only going to get better, is pretty outstanding,” said Marauders coach Theresa Burns. “She breaks games wide open for us, and if you don’t protect the deep ball, she is going to shoot a deep ball on you, but she is also strong enough to get herself to the rim. She just has a nose to win, plain and simple.” Linnea Harper drained a pair of late treys to give the Marauders a 71-54 lead after three quarters. Concordia drew within nine with five minutes to play but the Marauders responded with two runouts and coasted to the win. “For us, everything was a little too late. Especially when you’re playing with a team that has national experience,” said Concordia coach Tenicha Gittens. “So just being at Nationals and getting to this stage kind of got to us today. But we will be back, trust me.” Burns said “we’re really happy with our team room right now. We are obviously happy, but they think don’t think they played their best today. They think there is still a lot more to come, which I like.” Sarah Gates was chosen player of the game for the Marauders, while Caroline Task earned the laurels for the Stingers. Sarah Gates paced McMaster with 32 on 9-21 from the floor, 5-13 from the arc, 9-14 from the line and 7 boards. Hilary Hanaka added 16 on 4-13 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Linnea Harper notched 14 on 6-12 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Christina Buttenham added 11 on 4-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Olivia Wilson scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 11 boards, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Julia Hanaka notched 3 on 1-1 from the arc, while Erin Burns, Clare Sharkey, Arianne Soriano and Mia Spadafora were scoreless. Burns nabbed 10 boards and dished 3 assists. Soriano nabbed 2 boards. The Marauders hit 28-65 (.431) from the floor, 11-27 (.407) from the arc and 19-25 (.760) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 18 assists, 14 turnovers, 5 blocks and 6 steals. Carolina Task paced Concordia with 27 on 9-23 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 7-11 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Coralie Dumont added 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-8 from the line and 7 boards. Myriam Leclerc notched 13 on 3-18 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Areej Burgonio scored 4 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Ladonna Lamonth added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 9 boards. Elise Roy scored 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Aurelie d’Anjou Drouin added 2 on 0-2 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. The Stingers hit 22-71 (.310) from the floor, 5-25 (.200) from the arc and 19-28 (.679) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 11 assists, 11 turnovers and 8 steals. The Stingers (coach Tenicha Gittens; assistant Farid Charles; assistant Natasha Eadie; director of operations Sean Frederick; therapist Inderpreet Khela; student therapist Zachary Sage; student therapist Shayne Vording) also included Nelly Owusu, Sabrina Lineus, Ariel White, Natalie Rae Jeanson and Gretta-Olivia Ineza.
The 3rd-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies clipped the 6th-seeded Acadia Axewomen 77-69. The Axewomen led 14-13 after one quarter. The Huskies ripped off a 10-0 run and led 38-28 at the half and 62-51 after three quarters after Acadia rallied with a late 9-2 run. “We wanted to give Saskatchewan all they could handle,” said Acadia coach Len Harvey. “I feel pretty good about that, I think we did, for sure. … I think we did throw the kitchen sink at them, but the run in the second quarter really broke the game open for them. I’m proud of us, we could have easily folded up after that, you know the mystique of the Huskies.” The Huskies effectively attacked off the dribble and dominated the paint. “I think that obviously we had to get some jitters out, first National game, and after halftime I think we came out super strong,” said Huskie Summer Masikewich. “We just have to hold that for 40 minutes. At times, it was a little too close to comfort, you know when it gets to that foul, timeout, we knew that we were too close. But that’s good stuff, it prepares us for games coming up.” The Axewomen rallied to within 67-64 with two minutes to play but Sabine Dukate pilfered the ball for a runout by Libby Epoched as the Huskies reasserted themselves. “A lot of times the first game of Nationals is the toughest one. You kind of have these expectations of how your team can play and your opponent might have something to say about it and I thought Acadia played hard, they made things difficult for us today,” said Huskies coach Lisa Thomaidis. “They can really shoot it from the three. … We built a lead and just couldn’t put them away. So credit to Acadia, they kept coming back and had a lot of fight left in them. … Acadia can really shoot from three and the ball just stuck in our hands too long at times, we tried to force things on the perimeter when our advantage was inside so it just got a bit ugly there.” Summer Masikewich was chosen player of the game for the Huskies, while Jayda Veinot earned the laurels for the Axewomen. Summer Masikewich paced Saskatchewan with 25 on 10-22 from the floor, 5-8 from the line, 8 boards, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Kyla Shand added 13 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 10 boards and 2 steals. Libby Epoch notched 12 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Megan Ahlstrom scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 steals. Sabine Dukate added 7 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 7 boards and 6 assists. Kelsey Lalor notched 7 on 2-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 3 steals. Brianna Fehr scored 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards, while Carly Ahlstorm, Katriana Philipenko and Ashley de Sousa Martins were scoreless. The Huskies hit 30-74 (.405) from the floor, 5-19 (. 263) from the arc and 12-18 from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 15 assists, 16 turnovers, 4 blocks and 13 steals. Jayda Veinot paced Acadia with 22 on 6-12 from the floor, 5-6 from the arc, 5-5 rom the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Haley McDonald added 20 on 7-23 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Ellen Hatt notched 14 on 4-8 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Kelsey Rice scored 6 on 3-8 from the floor and 4 boards. Lanae Adams added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 steals. Rachel Clouatre-Trudeau scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards, while Sarsha Cadle, Shalyn Field and Alyson Fulton were scoreless. Cadle nabbed 4 boards and dished 2 assists. Field dished 2 assists and pilfered 2 balls. The Axewomen hit 23-66 (.348) from the floor, 11-23 (.478) from the arc and 12-13 (.923) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 11 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 7 steals. The Axewomen (coach Len Harvey; assistant Daniel De Palma) also included Miranda Crawley, Meghan MacLeod, Katie McAffee, Claire Ayotte, Alexia Smith, Kaisen MacKinnon and Taylor Tolliver.
The Ottawa Gee-Gees edged the Regina Cougars 65-63 after leading 17-12, 37-24 and 52-46 at the quarters. Gee-Gee guards Amélie Hachey and Brooklyn McAlear-Fanus gave the Cougars fits as uOttawa took a double-digit lead in the first half. “I was extremely focused and not stressed whatsoever,” said Hachey. The Cougars began to assert themselves in the paint as they rallied in the second half, drawing within 2 with 30 seconds to play. Gee-Gees coach Andy Sparks said “hopefully, we got the jitters out today against Regina. We had the opportunity to pull away in the second half, but full credit to Regina to hang in there. We got the win, and that’s the positive aspect of this.” Cougars coach Dave Taylor said “we dug ourselves in a deep hole there. And it’s hard to come back from that against a tough team like Ottawa.” The Cougars had a chance to tie it with three seconds to play but Carolina Goncalves couldn’t get a layup to fall after fighting through a double team and Ottawa nabbed the rebound to ensure the win. “As mad as I was at halftime about our compete level, I was exceptionally proud of the team after the game,” Taylor said. “We knew we’d have to compete like we did in the second half to have a chance and we knew we had to win the rebounding battle which we did in the second half and it showed in the result.” Regina had rallied from a 13-point deficit with a 10-1 run in the third quarter. The Cougars made three big defensive stops on the final two minutes but were never able to capitalize and get over the hump. Amélie Hachey was chosen player of the game for the Gee-Gees, while Macaela Crone earned the laurels for the Cougars. Amélie Hachey paced Ottawa with 26 on 9-16 from the floor, 7-9 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 10 boards. Brooklyn McAlear-Fanus added 16 on 5-17 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards and 9 assists. Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu notched 8 on 3-12 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Anne Carr scored 4 on 2-8 from the floor and 0-2 from the line. Jennifer Crowe added 4 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Angela Ribarich notched 4 on 2-7 from the floor and 7 boards. Sarah Besselink added 2 on 1-9 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 2 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Maia Timmons scored 1 on 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. The Gee-Gees hit 24-77 (.312) from the floor, 9-18 from the arc and 8-12 from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 16 assists, 5 turnovers, 3 blocks and 11 steals. Macaela Crone paced Regina with 21 on 9-19 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 10 boards and 4 assists. Christina McCusker added 16 on 6-10 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Michaela Kleisinger notched 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Carolina Goncalves scored 5 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Angela Bongomin added 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Gabby Kukura scored 2 on 0-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Alexi Rowden added 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Kyia Giles notched 1 on 0-3 from the arc and 4 boards, while Avery Pearce, Faith Reid and Madeleine Tell were scoreless. Reid nabbed 3 boards and Pearce 2. Pearce also dished 2 assists. The Cougars hit 22-58 (.379) from the floor, 4-16 from the arc and 15-18 (.833) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 15 assists, 20 turnovers, 3 blocks and 3 steals. The Cougars (coached by Dave Taylor, assisted by Fatih Akser) also included Kyanna Giles.
In the last quarterfinal, the top-seeded Laval Rouge et Or dusted the 8th-seeded host Ryerson Rams 73-51. Jama Bin-Edward opened the scoring with a pair of buckets for Ryerson but the wheels soon fell off for the Rams. Laval took a 20-11 lead after one quarter and extended the margin to 32-19 at the half. Sarah-Jane Marois notched a bucket at the buzzer to give the Rouge et Or a 52-35 lead after three quarters. “We tried to win the rebound battle tonight,” said Laval coach Guillaume Giroux. “(The Rams) are tall and physical, but we had a really strong first half and I was happy with that.” Marois told the Globe & Mail that “it’s fun to be No.1 in the country. Yes, we have a target on us, but we have a lot of fifth-year-players on our team, so we’re good with the pressure.” Sarah-Jane Marois was chosen player of the game for the Rouge et Or, while Haley Robertson earned the laurels for the Rams. Claudia Emond paced the Rouge et Or with 17 on 7-12 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 2 steals. Sarah-Jane Marois added 17 on 7-18 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Jane Gagne notched 12 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 4 boards. Naomi Lavallee scored 10 on 5-10 from the floor, 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Carrie-Ann Auger added 5 on 1-6 from floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Khaleann Caron-Goudreau notched 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 12 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Kim Letang scored 3 on 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Lea Dominique added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 6 boards and 2 assists. Gabrielle Raiche-Marcoux scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards. Marie-Pier Champagne added 1 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 assists, while Djamila Amidou Triquet and Frederique Beauchamp were scoreless. The Rouge et Or hit 29-69 (.420) from the floor, 8-20 (.400) from the arc and 7-9 (.778) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 18 assists, 18 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals. Hayley Robertson paced the Rams with 16 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Bronwyn Williams added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jama Bin-Edward notched 8 on 4-10 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Marin Scotten scored 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Sofia Paska added 5 on 1-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Katherine Follis scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 0-2 from the line, while Rachel Farwell, Emma Fraser, Stefanija Mrvaljevic, Latifah Roach, Leyki Sorra and Cara Tiemens were scoreless. Tiemens nabbed 3 boards and dished 2 assists. The Rams hit 19-61 (.311) from the floor, 0-14 from the arc and 13-16 (.812) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 10 assists, 18 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals. The Rams (coach Carly Clarke, assistant Jessica Roque, assistant Sherwyn Benn, assistant Vadim Levin, assistant Jason Sealy) also included Eleanor Jones, Inari Syrjanen, Aryn Sidhu and Devisha Binns.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded McMaster Marauders defeated the 3rd-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies 73-66. “It was exactly 29 years ago that one of our bronze medal teams was in Toronto in their semifinal game… so they just made history tonight,” said Marauders coach Theresa Burns. “This is the best team that McMaster has ever had – Ontario champion, gold or silver medal tomorrow, National final, these women just made history and I’m so proud.” The Marauders led 16-13 after one quarter. Katriana Philipenko notched a trey and Summer Masikewich a bucket in the blocks early in the second quarter for the Huskies but Sarah Gates kept draining jumpers for the Marauders. The Marauders took a 33-25 lead when Christina Buttenham made good on two looks from the free throw line with 3:40 to play. But the Canada West champions reeled off the last eight points, including a late trey by Megan Ahlstrom to send the teams into the locker room deadlocked at 33. Hilary Hanaka returned to the floor in the third quarter and McMaster broke the game open. Hanaka had 9 points in the frame, including a trey with 3:20 to play in the quarter that pushed Mac ahead 48-40. Scoring four buckets to close the quarter in quick succession, the Marauders capped it with a pair of Hanaka steals that led to layups for Buttenham and McMaster took a 59-47 lead into the final frame. Leading by 10 with under six minutes to play, McMaster saw its offence slow but raised its defensive level in response, and stayed composed at the free throw line as Saskatchewan fouled. The Marauders made 8-10 from the line in the final 5 minutes to eke out the win. “Coming down the stretch, we felt like if we could protect the three point line and keep Saskatchewan chipping away at twos, we would be in good shape,” said Burns. “It was total team defence. They scored for sure, but I thought we handled them well.” Marauders player of the game Linnea Harper said “I think when we came out in the first quarter and just owning the other team, I personally was very confident in the team. We kind of slowed down in the second quarter and I think there was a bit of doubt, but come the third quarter we had that big run, (and) I knew we were good.” Burns said “that confidence and that fearlessness that this team has this year, that has really been a difference maker and we share the ball. So when we’re coming at you in a wave of five you never know who is going to score.” Harper said “I have confidence, I know I can make free throws. ‘It’s just another free throw,’ – that’s what you have to remind yourself, and you come in clutch and you hit them.” Huskies coach Lisa Thomaidis said “we didn’t get anything easy today. We shot the ball less than what we normally shoot it. I thought we got the ball inside a ton especially in the first half, but we missed some ones around the rim and we missed a bunch of free throws and that was the difference. I thought we gave Gates too many looks at the rim… but other than that we were looking okay.” Hilary Hanaka told Canadian Press that “I think we’ve known we always had a good program. Just knowing that we’re one step closer to that national gold medal, to bringing it home is absolutely amazing. We knew going into tonight we would make history after 29 years. I think we had that little extra oomph in us, that little extra fire.” Thomaidis said “I think we had every opportunity to win that game. Their defensive pressure was a difference, they wore us down and we had some costly mental errors, and that’s what the defensive pressure does to you. When you’re least expecting it you have a mental breakdown and turn the ball over and they capitalize and get some easy ones.” Thomaidis played her final three seasons at McMaster under Burns before she went on to become a McMaster Hall of Famer. Thomaidis, who’s also Canada’s women’s head coach, said Burns was the reason she got into coaching. “(It would’ve been) a lot more fun if we’d come out on the winning side tonight, but the great thing is I hope they go out and win it tomorrow, win it all. So, either way we’re both playing for a medal and I want nothing but the best for her and her program.” Thomaidis told Huskies Online that “we shot the ball less efficiently than we normally do… and that was the difference. I thought we gave Sarah Gates too many looks at the rim, but other than that I thought we defended the three pretty well, we had more shots than them and more offensive rebounds so in a lot of statistical categories we were looking okay.” Sarah Gates paced the Marauders with 21 on 9-15 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Hilary Hanaka added 19 on 5-15 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Christina Buttenham notched 16 on 6-17 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 10 boards and 3 steals. Linnea Harper scored 14 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 10 boards, 7 assists, 2 blocks and 4 steals. Olivia Wilson added 3 on 1-4 from the floor and 1-2 from the line, while Erin Burns, Julia Hanaka and Clare Sharkey were scoreless. The Marauders hit 24-63 (.381) from the floor, 4-19 (.211) from the arc and 21-28 (.750) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 13 assists, 11 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals. Summer Masikewich paced the Huskies with 21 on 8-16 from the floor, 5-11 from the line, 12 boards and 3 assists. Sabine Dukate added 17 on 7-22 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 3 boards. Megan Ahlstrom notched 9 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards and 2 assists. Libby Epoch scored 6 on 2-12 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 9 assists. Kyla Shand added 6 on 3-9 from the floor and 5 boards. Katriana Philipenko notched 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Kelsey Lalor scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc, while Brianna Fehr was scoreless and nabbed 3 boards. The Huskies hit 25-70 (.357) from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 9-17 (.529) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 15 assists, 15 turnovers, 3 blocks and 4 steals.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Laval Rouge et Or edged the 4th-seeded Ottawa Gee-Gees 60-56. The Rouge et Or led 13-10 after one quarter and 24-23 at the half. The score was knotted at 42 after three quarters. Laval coach Guillaume Girous said experience proved the difference down the stretch. “I’m I’m really happy with the way they answered. With three, four minutes, I told them, ‘Hey, we’ve been there.’ We’re going to be calm, we’re going to share the ball, we’re going to play together and that’s exactly what they did. I was very happy with their answer. They’re used to playing with each other, they have confidence in themselves and it showed in the last minutes.” Rouge et Or player of the game Sarah-Jane Marois said “I was just trying to get layups and transition, and my teammates did a really good job of finding me on the court, so I had hope.” The game was a battle between the perimeter-oriented game of the Rouge et Or and the Gee-Gees style of attacking off the dribble. The Gee-Gees took a 40-37 lead on an Amelie Hachey trey and a bucket in the paint from post Angela Ribarich. But Laval kept drawing fouls and hitting free throws and then Emond notched a trey to give the Rouge et Or a 49-48 lead. Marois attacked for a layup as Laval took a 53-48 lead and the Rouge et Or hung on for the win. “Full credit to Laval. We knew coming in to this one that Laval was a high class team and that they’re well coached, they work their butts off, and they’ve got players that make plays and they’ve got players that make foul shots,” said Gee-Gees coach Andy Sparks. “They stepped up in that last two minutes to stretch it out, so full credit to them.” Giroux said “we knew it would be difficult, it was difficult all year against Ottawa. It was very, very physical as a match. Our little guards were very combative when it was time so I was very happy. … We have experienced turnarounds. When you win by 4 with 22 losses of balls, you’re happy, you run away! … With three minutes to go, I told them: we experienced the same thing two weeks ago against UQAM and we handled it perfectly. We will do the same thing. We will stay calm, we will distribute the ball, we will play together, and that’s exactly what they did. They are used to playing together, they trust them and it seemed in the last minutes.” Marois was chosen player of the game for the Rouge et Or, while Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu earned the laurels for the Gee-Gees. Marois said “it could have been Jane (Gagne) the player of the game, or Khaleann (Caron-Goudreau) defensive who was incredible or Claudia (Emond) who scored a significant shot of three points. It was really a great team victory.” Caron-Goudreau said “I was disappointed to have taken my last offense like that late in the game. I knew Naomi (Lavallee) and Lea (Dominique) would do that. It was stressful, but I trusted my team. … Yes, I can score, but I know that defense is my role on the team. I love the defense, I take it to heart and to win, that’s what it takes. I do not mind contributing differently!” Gagne said I’ve always been told in my course that free throws win the games, and that’s what happened. I was ready. … We were surprised by their compact defense. It took us some time to adjust and find their weaknesses. Finally in the fourth quarter we managed to have more quality shots to get the lead.” Sarah-Jane Marois paced the Rouge et Or with 20 on 7-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Jane Gagne added 16 on 4-14 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 11 boards. Claudia Emond notched 12 on 4-16 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Naomi Lavallee scored 8 on 4-7 from the floor and 7 boards. Khaleann Caron-Goudreau added 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 10 boards and 3 assists. Lea Dominique scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 4 boards, while Carrie-Ann Auger, Marie-Pier Champagne, Kim Letang and Gabrielle Raiche-Marcoux were scoreless. Auger nabbed 2 boards. Laval hit 21-55 (.382) from the floor, 4-15 (.267) from the arc and 14-15 (.933) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 11 assists, 22 turnovers, 14 blocks and 3 steals. Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu paced the Gee-Gees with 17 on 6-17 from the floor, 5-7 from the line, 10 boards and 3 assists. Angela Ribarich added 12 on 5-11 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Sarah Besselink notched 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jennifer Crowe scored 7 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Anne Carr added 4 on 1-7 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Amelie Hachey scored 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 6 boards. Brooklyn McAlear-Fanus added 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 6 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals, while Aliisa Heiskanen, Alana Renon and Maia Timmons were scoreless. Renon nabbed 2 boards. The Gee-Gees hit 20-71 (.282) from the floor, 2-13 (.154) from the arc and 14-17 (.824) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 13 assists, 12 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals.
In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Ottawa Gee-Gees edged the 3rd-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies 63-62 after rallying from a 19-point deficit. The Huskies led 19-12 after one quarter and 41-27 at the half by dominating the boards and scoring at whim in the paint. But Ottawa outscored Saskatchewan 21-6 in the third quarter, capped by an Alana Renon trey that gave them a 48-47 lead heading into the final frame. “The way we came out at half really changed the game,” said Gee-Gees guard Brooklynn McAlear-Fanus. “It helped us gain confidence and momentum, and we got a great result out of it.” The Gee-Gees built a 7-point lead in the final frame and then hung on for the win. A Summer Masikewich shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim, denying the Huskies a medal. “There are certain games in your career as a coach that you love to look back on,” said Gee-Gees coach Andy Sparks. “This was it for me.” Sarah Besselink said the win “means a lot to me. This year, we had a really special team. To come out with a win at the end of my career means the world. …(The bronze medal) is a moment our players will never forget.” Huskies coach Lisa Thomaidis said “I thought the first half really showcased what this team was capable of, but the third quarter really killed us. 2-for-19. Lots of looks at the rim, lots of opportunities, but none of it went down. … We are still a young team, there was lots of learning that took place and we know what level we need to be at. The two losses that we did have came down to mental errors at the end of the game. Most of our team will be back next year and we will be better with this experience.” Brooklynn McAlear-Fanus was chosen player of the game for the Gee-Gees, while Sabine Dukate earned the laurels for the Huskies. Sarah Besselink paced the Gee-Gees with 13 on 6-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Brooklynn McAlear-Fanus added 12 on 5-14 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4 boards and 8 assists. Anne Carr notched 10 on 5-11 from the floor, 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu scored 8 on 4-9 from the floor, 6 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Alana Renon added 6 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Amelie Hachey noted 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Angela Ribarich scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 4 boards and 3 blocks. Maia Timmons added 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Jennifer Crowe scored 2 on 1-6 from the floor and 3 boards, while Aliisa Heiskanen was scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 28-67 (.418) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 2-4 from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 17 assists, 15 turnovers, 3 blocks and 11 steals. Sabine Dukate paced the Huskies with 15 on 6-16 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 4 boards and 4 assists. Summer Masikewich added 14 on 7-13 from the floor, 13 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Kyla Shand notched 11 on 4-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Libby Epoch scored 8 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Megan Ahlstrom notched 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Katriana Philipenko scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Maya Olynyk added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Ashley de Sousa Martins scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards, while Carly Ahlstrom, Brianna Fehr and Kelsey Lalor were scoreless. Lalor nabbed 4 boards. The Huskies hit 25-68 (.368) from the floor, 7-28 (.250) from the arc and 5-7 (.714) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 10 assists, 20 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals. The Huskies (coached by Lisa Thomaidis, assisted by Claire Meadows, Ali Fairbrother and Jacqueline Lavallee) also included Janaya Brown, Vera Crooks, Emma Engen and Erin Kehrig.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded McMaster Marauders captured their first Bronze Baby by dusting the top-seeded Laval Rouge et Or 70-58. Tournament MVP Linnaea Harper said “to be able to do this after five years, in my last year is so amazing. This also means the world to her (head coach, Theresa Burns) she’s been doing this for 25 plus years and to finally make it, and make it to the National Championship and win, we’re so happy to do this for her.” Marauders coach Theresa Burns said “the game plan is to always be as tough as we can be defensively, stay positive and no matter what happens, you just keep picking each other up and good things will happen. They’re just so resilient. We’re playing a good team, we’re playing No. 1 in the country, so they’re going to get their runs, they’re going to score, but when we bent we didn’t break. I think we just believed we could do it. … They believe in each other, it’s like absolutely unshakable. I’ve had a lot of teams that support each other and believe in each other but this group takes it to a different level.” McMaster led 11-10 after the low-scoring first quarter. Laval took a 30-23 lead on back-to-back treys by Sarah-Jane Marois and maintained a 33-27 lead at the half. Harper opened the second half with a trey and Sarah Gates added a layup to trim the margin to one. Claudia Emond countered with a trey and then Gates hit another layup. Hilary Hanaka notched a layup to trim the margin to 38-37. Christina Buttenham notched an and-one that gave McMaster a 42-38 lead and later added a putback to knot the score at 44 after three quarters. The Marauders opened the final frame with a pair of free throws, a Harper trey and a Buttenham jumper to take a 7-point lead. Jane Gagne, Caron-Goudreau and Marois rallied the Rouge et Or but Gates notched another trey and a jumper to give McMaster a 58-54 lead. Harper added a free throw and a layup as McMaster took a 64-54 lead and then iced it when Harper banked in a shot to beat an expiring shot clock with 90 seconds to play. Harper said anybody on the team could have won the MVP award. “Because our team is so good, it could have been anybody, so to be able to represent my team is a great feeling. It’s just so amazing.” Burns told the Hamilton Spectator that “I thought this team had something different. I hoped we would get to this point.” Asked if she ever wondered if it would actually happen, Burns replied: Oh all the time. For 30 years, every year you chase it and all kinds of things happen and there are so many variables to try to control.” Harper told the Toronto Star that “it feels like a dream. I can’t believe we won the national championship. Unbelievable, to be able to do this after five years, in my last year, it’s so amazing.” Burns told the Star that even when the Marauders trailed they just kept playing. “That was our message last night and this morning and at halftime and in the timeouts: just keep having fun out there and enjoy the moment. No matter what happens, this is amazing. You need to soak it up and enjoy the moment. … As a player, you put so much work into it, but as a coach I think there’s a different level of understanding of how hard it is and how special it is. As a player, your coaches and your teammates lead you there and it’s hard, but you go where they tell you. As a coach to go through all this, it’s unbelievably difficult. … There’s for sure some shots today where we went: Ooh, I don’t know about that one,” Burns said. “But we’re going to live with those to give them the confidence to play free, because when they play free, the basketball IQ on our team is very high, the skill level’s very high, and we wanted them to just relax and get out there and enjoy it.” Laval coach Guillaume Giroux told the Star that “everyone is banged up, everyone is tired, everyone will be like: honour and fight and you’ve got to win for your program, your university, you’ve got to win for yourself. You’ve got to fight.” Harper told the Star “honestly, we were a little intimidated. Laval was a very good team. They can score, they’re drive-and-kick, they’re fast like us. It was a little intimidating, but once we stepped on the court and came out with our defensive intensity, we were like: We got this. … At halftime, we thought we got this. In the fourth quarter, we finally starting hitting and that was the end of that.” Burns told Canadian Press that “there are some years where you just have a good group and you think, ‘Wow, maybe this is the team’. We just knew that this team had something different. … Just unbelievable. I-can’t-even-describe-it joy. Unbelievable pride in this group. … As a player, you put so much work into it, but as a coach, I think there’s a different level of understanding of how hard it is and how special it is. As a player, your coaches and your teammates lead you there and it’s hard but you go where they tell you. As a coach to go through all this, it’s unbelievably difficult. … This team is so resilient and we sat on the bench and we never got down, they picked each other up and they still really believed. As soon as we flipped the switch defensively and got back to the way we can play D, it started to turn the tide a little bit.” Christina Buttenham said “playing in the national finals there’s so much pressure, but having a coach like her who’s so calm in big games like this definitely helps calm your nerves too.” Guillaume Girous told Laval Online that “our percentages were very low. In the third quarter, we managed only 11% of our shots, that’s why the score returned equal. We missed several layups to put in, at this level. … We were running out of juice, unfortunately. I find it flat at this time, we felt that on the other side it was fine, they looked clearly more fit than us. … It’s a shame because we went very well defensively. I told the girls that I was overly proud of their effort. And of the season. We finish with a total record of 29 wins and 2 losses. We finally won a provincial championship. You can not be unhappy! We have no regrets, we worked hard, we really gave everything. Unfortunately, it was not on our side today.” Claudia Emond said “it’s been an exceptional year. We will come out with our heads up. We had an uphill climb every year. There, it hurts, but in a while we will come out grown up to be really grateful for this course. … I grew up as a person, I knew coaches and teammates, I progressed as an athlete, it was a life lesson from A to Z.” Christina Buttenham was chosen player of the game for the Marauders, while Khaleann Caron-Goudreau earned the laurels for the Rouge et Or. Sarah Gates paced the Marauders with 18 on 8-19 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Linnaea Harper added 18 on 6-15 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Christian Buttenham notched 13 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 4 steals. Hilary Hanaka scored 12 on 3-10 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 3 assists. Julia Hanaka added 5 on 1-6 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Olivia Wilson scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 8 boards, 3 assists and 3 blocks, while Erin Burns was scoreless and nabbed 4 boards. The Marauders hit 26-69 (.377) from the floor, 5-28 (.179) from the arc and 13-15 (.867) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 13 assists, 9 turnovers, 8 blocks and 8 steals. Sarah-Jane Marois paced the Rouge et Or with 21 on 7-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Claudia Emond added 15 on 4-16 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Khaleann Caron-Goudreau notched 10 on 4-14 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 12 boards, 4 blocks and 2 steals. Jane Gagne scored 8 on 4-18 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc and 12 boards. Naomi Lavallee added 4 on 2-8 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 assists, while Carrie-Ann Auger, Marie-Pier Champagne and Lea Dominique were scoreless. Auger nabbed 4 boards. The Rouge et Or hit 21-71 (.296) from the floor, 5-20 (.250) from the arc and 11-12 (.917) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 9 assists, 18 turnovers, 6 blocks and 7 steals.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Linnaea Harper (McMaster); Summer Masikewich (Saskatchewan); Brooklyn McAlear-Fanus (Ottawa); Sarah-Jane Marois (Laval); Khaleann Caron-Goudreau (Laval); and Christina Buttenham (McMaster).
The bronze medalist Ottawa Gee-Gees: Maia Timmons; Brooklyn McAlear-Fanus; Mary Besselink; Alana Renon; Natalie Liguori; Aliisa Heiskanen; Hannah Temple; Adonaelle Mousambote; Amelie Hachey; Jennifer Crowe; Angela Ribarich; Melina De Iulio; Anne Carr; Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu; Sarah Besselink; redshirt Madison Hogg; coach Andy Sparks; assistant Mario Gaetano; assistant Ian Mackinnon; assistant Rose-Anne Joly
The silver medalist Laval Rouge et Or: Djamila Amidou Triquet; Carrie-Ann Auger; Frederique Beauchamp; Khaleann Caron-Goudreau; Marie-Pier Champagne; Lea Dominique; Claudia Emond; Jane Gagne; Charlie Guillemette; Naomi Lavallee; Kim Letang; Sarah-Jane Marois; Koralie Melancon; Josiane Prince; Gabrielle Raiche-Marcoux; Houlfat Mahouchiza; coach Guillaume Giroux; assistant Marie-Pascale Nadeau; assistant Francois Patenaude; strength & conditioning Justin Robert; strength & conditioning Laurence Robitaille; therapist Catherine Carignan
The champion McMaster Marauders: Brielle Loebach; Evie Streight; Hilary Hanaka; Arianne Soriano; Erin Burns; Sarah Gates; Mia Spadafora; Christina Buttenham; Koko Tsuzuki; Linnaea Harper; Julia Hanaka; Clare Sharkey; Olivia Wilson; coach Theresa Burns; assistant Anne Marie Thuss; assistant Ed Grosel; assistant Andrew Baillie; assistant Danielle Boiago