REGULAR SEASON
| McGill | 15-1 | 23-4 | Ryan Thorne | ||
| Laval | 9-7 | 19-9 | Guillaume Giroux | ||
| UQAM | 9-7 | 14-13 | Albena Branzova-Dimitrova | ||
| Concordia | 7-9 | 12-11 | Tenicha Gittens | ||
| Bishop’s | 0-16 | 3-20 | Alex Perno | ||
Playoff non-qualifier:
Bishop’s Gaiters: Edith Noblecilla, Taylor Dennis, Ashley Milhomme, Maude Archambault, Naomi James, Marie-Laurence Dulude, Noemie Hamel-Petit, Valerie Tremblay, Alexandra Ethier, Catherine Guay, Mara Lis Marchizotti, Joy-Celine Bermillo, Ashley White, Charlene Pettigrew, Evelyn Verrett, coach Alex Perno, assistant Steve Cassivi, associate Craig Norman, assistant Mike Andrews, assistant Catherine Rondeau, psychologist Amelie Soulard, manager Diane Andreville
In the semis, the top-seeded McGill Martlets dusted the 4th-seeded Concordia Stingers 85-60 after rallying from an early 10-point deficit. Alexandria Kiss-Rusk was named player of the game for the Martlets after notching a career-high in points and blocks. “I was really hyped up about the game and everything was falling for me — I had a few shots that just fell,” Kiss-Rusk told McGillonline. “Everybody was getting me the ball, so it was working well. It’s coming down to it right now — they’re all must-win games, so I’m trying to do everything that I can to get us to the next step. We were looking inside a lot, so that was really big and we were running a lot of plays that allowed me close-up too, which was huge. This game, Concordia didn’t double (team) much in close. I think I have an advantage against any of their ‘bigs’ and if they’re not doubling, it becomes a pretty good situation for us.” Martlets coach Ryan Thorne said free throw shooting was key. “If we’re going to force people to foul us, then we better make some free-throws. We spend a bit of time on that now. That’s something that was lacking early on in the season but I think we’ve addressed it and we’ll continue to work on it throughout.” The Stingers took an early 10-point lead before a Myriam Sylla lay-up narrowed the gap to 20-12 after one quarter. The Martlets rallied to lead 35-34 at the half and 61-49 after three quarters. “Since February 6th, we haven’t had the whole team together,” said Thorne. “For us to get together now, at a really important time, there’s got to be some nerves. Everyone wants to play their best and sometimes you try to do it all by yourself, so there was a little bit of that (involved). We took a time-out and started to talk more about us playing as a unit. I think (afterwards) we did a better job of that. We were giving them a lot of easy baskets defensively. As bad as we were at the beginning, in the first half we shot (over) 46 per cent from the field, which is pretty good. But they shot 44.1 per cent, which is something we usually don’t allow, so I was disappointed in that.” Thorne added that point guard Dianna Ros was “outstanding. Early on she was timid and there were some opportunities she didn’t take. But she has the ability to bring people together and… find our bigs. She helped Alex get a couple easy buckets, helped Mariam get a couple of easy buckets and took a couple for herself. So that’s just what fifth-year leadership gives you and we’re definitely happy to have that.” Stingers coach Tenicha Gittens said “the game plan was to take them out of what they wanted to do. We did a good job at the beginning. It rattled them, and we wanted to make them uncomfortable. We wanted to stay true to the game plan and in the second half we got away from that. We allowed Alex Kiss-Rusk to get too comfortable on the block and she’s a great player. She’s really, really, really good. She knows exactly when she wants the ball and she knows exactly what to do when she catches it, so if you make her comfortable, if you’re not physical with her and you allow her to just go from block to block, she’ll drop 31 points on you easily, no contest.” Alex Kiss-Rusk paced the Martlets with 31 on 14-22 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 7 boards, 3 assists and 8 blocks. Mariam Sylla added 22 on 7-16 from the floor, 8-8 from the line, 12 boards and 2 blocks. Dianna Ros notched 11 on 4-6 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 3 assists. Marika Guerin scored 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 assists. Gabriela Hebert added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 4 boards. Jennifer Silver added 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 8 boards and 2 blocks. Marie-Love Michel added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 2 boards. Gladys Hakizimana added 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists, while Geraldine Cabillo-Abante, Stephanie Blais and Stephanie Guinois-Cote wee scoreless. Cabillo-Abante nabbed 3 boards and dished 2 assists. Michel nabbed 2 boards. The Martlets hit 33-67 (.493) from the floor, 1-6 (.167) from the arc and 18-20 (.900) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 4 steals, 12 blocks, 16 turnovers and 18 fouls. Richelle Gregoire paced the Stingers with 20 on 8-25 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Marilyse Roy-Viau added 15 on 6-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Marie-Eve Martin added 9 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Tamara Pinard-Devos notched 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 5 assists. Latifah Roach added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 2 boards. Tylea Cole scored 1 on 0-4 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 3 boards, while Aurelie d’Anjou-Drouin, Elise Roy, Jessika Joly and Erika Jacques were scoreless. Drouin nabbed 3 boards. The Stingers hit 22-73 (.301) from the floor, 4-13 (.308) from the arc and 12-19 (.632) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 11 turnovers and 19 fouls.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Laval Rouge et Or pounded the 3rd-seeded UQAM Citadins 67-48. The Citadins led 12-10 after one quarter and 28-20 at the half. The Rouge et Or led 46-35 after three quarters. “I think we were afraid of them in the first half,” Rouge et Or coach Guillaume Giroux told the RSEQ. “With the support of the crowd, they played hard with us. I spoke of attitude to girls in the locker room. They missed layups because they were afraid of being blocked. I said, put the ball on the glass, even if you do block, we will take the ball anyway. They showed a real good attitude in the second half and I’m really happy.” The Citadins led 12-10 after one quarter and 28-20 at the half but the Rouge et Or opened the second half with a 16-0 run to take command. They led 46-35 after three quarters and romped. Sarah-Jane Marois was chosen player of the game for the Rouge et Or, while Jessica Lubin earned the laurels for the Citadins. Genevieve Derome paced the Rouge et Or with 15 on 6-13 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Sarah-Jane Marois added 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 5 steals. Raphaelle Cote notched 10 on 3-14 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Justine Guay-Bilodeau added 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 5 boards. Gabrielle Girard scored 9 on 4-17 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 7 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Claudia Emond notched 5 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Naomi Lavallee added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Laura Pelletier scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 4 boards, while Julie Dufresne, Marie-Pier Champagne, Sophie Boulanger and Maude Blouin-Brochu were scoreless. Boulanger nabbed 2 boards. The Rouge et Or hit 24-77 (.312) from the floor, 4-15 (.267) from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 12 steals, 4 blocks, 16 turnovers and 20 fouls. Jessica Lubin led the Citadins with 19 on 8-16 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 11 boards, 2 steals and blocks. Laura Desrameaux-Simon added 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Janice Quintos added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Sarah Cabana scored 5 on 1-2 from the floor and 3-4 from the line. Queteline Celestin added 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Fanny Chiecchio added 2 and Tina Mpondani 1 on 0-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 blocks, while Audreanne Jean, Bianca Marois, Roxanne Boulianne-Douaire, Carmen Djossou and Anne-Florence Bastien were scoreless. Djossou nabbed 2 boards. The Citadins hit 17-60 (.283) from the floor, 1-12 (.083) from the arc and 13-20 (.650) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks, 20 turnovers and 18 fouls.
In the final, the top-seeded McGill Martlets clipped the 2nd-seeded Laval Rouge et Or 71-56 to capture their fifth consecutive RSEQ title. The Rouge et Or led 19-17 after one quarter and 29-27 at the half. But the Martlets took command in the second half and led 46-36 after three quarters. Mariam Sylla and Alexandria Kiss-Rusk each notched double-doubles. Martlets coach Ryan Thorne told RSEQ that the win is “probably a little more special (than the past four) because it’s the end of the career for some of these special people to me … Dianna Ros and Gabriela Hebert have been here for five years, and every year they’ve won a championship. Sometimes (as a coach) you feel like it has to do more with you, but it doesn’t. It’s those kids, their commitment, their effort, their work, so definitely this one seems a little more special.” Sylla said “it was a really emotional game, especially at the end because it’s probably my last game at McGill. We didn’t have the start we wanted … but we kept fighting. I’m really, really proud of my team. I’m really lucky to be part of this group so right now we’re just going for that national title we didn’t get last year — that’s the goal now. … At the start I wasn’t getting the shots I wanted and my shots were not going in, but it’s really a mental game. I was telling myself, ‘you come in this gym every day, you practice here — this is it, you have to come and keep shooting.’ At the third quarter, my shots started really falling so I was more pumped up, and I got a couple offensive rebounds. That’s my game, so that brought my energy up and that’s contagious. Alex started going to the board and knocking down some shots, Dianna did super well, and it was really a team effort. They were looking for me and everyone just came together. We did that together. … Alex does her moves down there and if you don’t double her, she’s just going to kill it. She knows where to find me and I know where to find her, and when we get really double-teamed, we just call for a shooter.” Thorne said that point guard Dianna Ros, “with her knowledge, her maturity, and her leadership, just allowed us to get over the top. We had people like Hebert who’s in her fifth year, who just gave everything she had and laid her body out for steals and things of that nature, so just a great effort. Those kids were going to make sure they weren’t losing in their last year, so it had more to do with them anything else. … That’s a tough team out there, they’re well-coached. We had to really work and grind. They tried to take away a lot of things in the interior, so we ended up settling for some shots and our ‘bigs’ started to step up and make some shots, which opened up the interior a little more.” Rouge et Or coach Guillaume Giroux said “there’s only one team that beat us this season, and that’s McGill. I think they’re going to win the national championship, so we have nothing to be ashamed of. … I told the girls I was proud because we took a huge step. There’s just one small step left, though it’s still enormous, in order to take that last step to the top. That’s what were here for and that’s what we’ll try to do next season.” Mariam Sylla was chosen player of the game for the Martlets, while Gabrielle Girard earned the laurels for the Rouge et Or. Mariam Sylla paced the Martlets with 22 on 7-14 from the floor, 8-9 from the line, 10 boards and 4 assists. Alex Kiss-Rusk added 13 on 6-12 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 15 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Marika Guerin notched 10 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 2 assists and 3 steals. Gabriela Hebert added 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Dianna Ros scored 9 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 3 board, 6 assists and 2 steals. Marie-Love Michel added 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Geraldine Cabillo-Abante added 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists, while Carissa Tapia, Stephanie Blais, Stephanie Guinois-Cote and Fredericke Laflamme were scoreless. The Martlets hit 24-59 (.407) from the floor, 6-18 (.333) from the arc and 17-22 (.773) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 11 steals, 2 blocks, 15 turnovers and 17 fouls. Sarah-Jane Marois paced the Rouge et Or with 20 on 8-13 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Gabrielle Girard added 12 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Claudia Emond notched 8 on 2-11 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 3 assists and 2 steals. Genevieve Derome scored 7 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Raphaelle Cote added 7 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Justine Guay-Bilodeau added 2, while Jane Gagne, Marie-Pier Champagne, Naomi Lavallee, Sophie Boulanger and Laura Pelletier were scoreless. Lavallee nabbed 4 boards and pilfered 2 balls. The Rouge et Or hit 19-60 (.317) from the floor, 9-33 (.273) from the arc and 9-12 (.750) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 7 steals, 15 turnovers and 21 fouls.
The co-bronze medalist Concordia Stingers: Richelle Gregoire; Marilyse Roy-Viau; Marie-Eve Martin; Tamara Pinard-Devos; Latifah Roach; Tylea Cole; Aurelie d’Anjou-Drouin; Elise Roy; Jessika Joly; Erika Jacques; Danielle Dimitrov; Shanica Baker; Alexa Schryver; coach Tenicha Gittens; assistant Denburk Reid; assistant Natasha Eadie; assistant Sarah Gagne
The co-bronze medalist U.Q.A.M. Citadins: Jessica Lubin; Laura Desrameaux-Simon; Janice Quintos; Sarah Cabana; Queteline Celestin; Fanny Chiecchio; Tina Mpondani; Audreanne Jean; Bianca Marois; Roxanne Boulianne-Douaire; Carmen Djossou; Anne-Florence Bastien; Alexandra Madzarevic; Yves-Carlette Leger; coach Albena Branzova; assistant Vladimir Dimitrov; assistant Mireille Karangwa; assistant Louis Couture; trainer Athanasio Destounis; trainer Maxime Beaudin
The runner-up Laval Rouge et Or: Genevieve Derome; Valerie Demeule; Raphaelle Cote; Claudia Emond; Jane Gagne; Justine Guay-Bilodeau; Gabrielle Girard; Marie-Pier Champagne; Sarah-Jane Marois; Naomi Lavallee; Sophie Boulanger; Maude Blouin-Brochu; Laurie Pelletier; Julie Dufresne; Anne-Frederique Turcotte; coach Guillaume Giroux; assistant Marie-Pascale Nadeau; assistant Francois Patenaude; assistant Justin Robert; trainer Leandre Gagne-Lemeiux
The champion McGill Martlets: Gladys Hakizimana; Dianna Ros; Chiso Ufondu; Marika Guerin; Marie-Love Michel; Carissa Tapia; Geraldine Cabillo-Abante; Stephanie Blais; Gabriela Hebert; Jennifer Silver; Mariam Sylla; Stephanie Guinois-Cote; Alex Kiss-Rusk; Fredericke Laflamme; coach Ryan Thorne; assistant Helen Magadalinos; assistant Rikki Bowles; assistant Bayonne Taty; manager Emilija Davidovic; physician Dr. Andrea Dolan; therapist Phedavril Racine