CONSOLATION #2 CIS championship: Schutz leads Blues to consolation final

Courtesy: University of Windsor sports information / Photo credit Keenan Greer
 
WINDSOR, Ont. (CIS) – Nicki Schutz scored a career-high 35 points to lead the fifth-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues to an 82-79 win over the No. 8 Laval Rouge et Or in the second consolation match of the CIS women’s basketball Final 8, Saturday afternoon, at the University of Windsor’s St. Denis Centre.
 
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb
 
The OUA bronze medallist Blues, who lost 58-49 to No. 4 Cape Breton in Friday’s quarter-final round, advance to Sunday’s 11 a.m. fifth-place game where they will face No. 7 Laurier.
 
The victory was Toronto’s first at the Final 8 since a 73-59 win over Lakehead in the 1997 quarters.
 
Quebec champion Laval returns home with an 0-2 record for the first time since 2007. The Rouge et Or had finished sixth each of the past two years, and fourth in 2008.
 
Both selected to the second all-Canadian team this season, Schutz, a fifth-year forward from Toronto, and Laval’s Marie-Michelle Genois, also a fifth-year senior from Cap-Santé, Que., put on a spectacular show for the St. Denis Centre fans.
 
Schutz added 13 rebounds to earn game-MVP honours, while Genois, playing in her final university contest tallied 27 points and matched Schutz 13 boards.
 
“The biggest difference today was that we came out fired up,” said Schutz. “Michèle (Coach Bélanger) told us we had to win the rebounding battle and win the loose balls and we did that today. It was a close game and Jo (Medri) came up with a great board at the end for us.”
 
In their first CIS championship appearance since 2008 Toronto managed to advance to the consolation final for the first time since 1993 when they beat Western 81-59. 
 
The Blues came out on fire against Laval. The first quarter saw them shoot 42.1% from the field, while Schutz scored 10 points and six rebounds to help pace the Blues to an early 20-16 lead.
 
The second quarter saw the Blues push the pace in an attempt to increase their lead.  However, by the end of the quarter Laval had managed to close the gap even further to 39-35 after a team effort that saw four players combine for 32 of their points. 
 
Genois and Mélodie Laniel Dion both had nine points at the end of the first half to lead the Rouge et Or. Genois also led Laval in rebounds with six. 
 
With only four points to overcome after the break the Rouge et Or chipped away at the small Toronto lead. 
 
Scoring by committee, Laval rallied midway through the third quarter to take the lead from the Blues.  However, by the end of the quarter Toronto would regain the lead riding another strong performance by Schutz, who had an incredible 30 points and 13 rebounds by the end of the third quarter. 
 
Toronto’s strong play continued, with only seven turnovers and eight steals the Varsity Blues possessed the ball and controlled the clock heading into the final frame. 
 
The fourth quarter saw the Rouge et Or keep the score tight, taking advantage of a few defensive miscues Laval rallied from down 9 to tie the game with five minutes remaining. The last five minutes saw the pace increase as both teams exchanged leads multiple times, however Toronto managed to come away with the win. 
 
GAME NOTES: Schutz’s previous career-high was 34 points in a regular season game against Waterloo on Nov. 7, 2009... In the only previous meeting between the two teams at the CIS Final 8, in 1996, Toronto prevailed 89-69 in the quarter-final round... 
 
STAT LEADERS
 
TOR 20-19-24-19: 82
LAV 16-19-19-25: 79
 
Toronto
Points: Nicki Schutz (35), Erin McNeely (17), Sherri Pierce (9)
Rebounds: Nicki Schutz (13), Erin McNeely (6)
Assists: Erin McNeely (3), Jill Stratton (3)
 
Player of the game: Nicki Schutz
 
Laval
Points: Marie-Michelle Genois (27), Elyse Jobin (15), Mélodie Laniel Dion (14)
Rebounds: Marie-Michelle Genois (13), Sandrine Ducruc (5)
Assists: Marjorie Ferland (6), Elyse Jobin (5)
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
 
Friday, March 18
 
Quarter-final #1: StFX 50, Carleton 44
Quarter-final #2: Saskatchewan 58, Wilfrid Laurier 51
Quarter-final #3: Windsor 80, Laval 50
Quarter-final #4: Cape Breton 58, Toronto 49
 
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
 
Saturday, March 19
 
Consolation #1: Wilfrid Laurier 56, Carleton 52
Consolation #2: Toronto 82, Laval 79
18:00 Semifinal #1: No. 6 StFX vs. No. 2 Saskatchewan (SSN Canada webcast) *
20:00 Semifinal #2: No. 1 Windsor vs. No. 4 Cape Breton (SSN Canada webcast) *
 
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
 
Sunday, March 20
 
11:00 5th place game: No. 7 Wilfrid Laurier vs. No. 5 Toronto (SSN Canada webcast)
13:00 Bronze medal game (SSN Canada webcast) *
16:30 Championship final (Live on TSN)
 
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
 
-CIS-