VICTORIA (U SPORTS) – The McGill Martlets advanced to the ArcelorMittal Dofasco U SPORTS Women’s Final 8 semifinals on Wednesday night with a 72-62 victory over a resilient Regina Cougars team at the CARSA Performance Gym in Victoria.
“The girls worked hard,” said McGill head coach Ryan Thorne. “What was really important for us was our rotation defence…our ball-screen defence. Offensively we had an advantage with Alex (Kiss-Rusk), so we pounded it in there when we could and when they double-teamed her, we found some open shooters and shot the ball well.”
The Cougars got within three points in the fourth quarter after entering the final frame down 49-40 but couldn’t overcome the hot-shooting Martlets.
Rookie guard Frederique Potvin led McGill with 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field, knocking down four threes, while third-year point guard Marika Guerin, fourth-year centre Alex Kiss-Rusk and fourth-year forward Jennifer Silver each had 12 points for the Martlets.
Kiss-Rusk added 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double, earning her Player of the Game honours for the Martlets. The performance was nothing new from the Beaconsfield, Que., native, who led McGill in scoring with 14.1 points per game this season.
Fifth-year guard Katie Polischuk was named Player of the Game for the Cougars after knocking down a team-high 17 points on 7-for-19 shooting. Michaela Kleisinger had nine points for the Cougars and added six rebounds to round out a strong game.
“I was proud of (Polischuk) because she was struggling from three and that’s where she normally scores from,” said Taylor. “She found other ways to score when we needed it.”
McGill will meet the winner of UVic and Carleton in the second semifinal on Saturday, set for 4:00 p.m. PST, while Regina will player the loser of that game at 8:00 p.m. on Friday night.
STAT LEADERS
MCG: 16-20-13-23: 72
Regina Cougars
Points: Katie Polischuk (17), Michaela Kleisinger (9), Kyanna Giles (8)
Rebounds: Michaela Kleisinger (6)
Assists: Christina McCusker (2), Katie Polischuk (2), Sara Hubenig (2)
Player of the game: #3 Katie Polischuk
McGill Martlets
Points: Frederique Potvin (20), Alex Kiss-Rusk (12), Marika Guerin (12), Jennifer Silver (12)
Rebounds: Alex Kiss-Rusk (11), Frederique Potvin (7)
Assists: Alex Kiss-Rusk (6), Frederique Potvin (5)
Player of the game: #21 Alex Kiss-Rusk
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times PT)
Thursday, March 9
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final 1: No.3 Queen’s (60) vs. No. 6 Cape Breton (51) (USPORTS.LIVE)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final 2: No. 2 Saskatchewan (59) vs. No. 7 Laval (69) (USPORTS.LIVE)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final 3: No. 4 McGill (72) vs. No. 5 Regina (62) (USPORTS.LIVE)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final 4: No. 1 Carleton vs. No. 8 Victoria (USPORTS.LIVE)
Friday, March 10
6:00 p.m. Consolation 1: Cape Breton vs. Saskatchewan (USPORTS.LIVE)
8:00 p.m. Consolation 2: Regina vs. Loser QF 4 (USPORTS.LIVE)
Saturday, March 11
2:00 p.m. Semifinal 1: Queen’s vs. Laval (Sportsnet 360/SN Now)
4:00 p.m. Semifinal 2: McGill vs. Winner QF 4 (Sportsnet 360/SN Now)
7:00 p.m. 5th-place game (USPORTS.LIVE)
Sunday, March 12
10:00 a.m. Bronze (USPORTS.LIVE)
1:00 p.m. Final (Sportsnet 360/SN Now)