QUARTER-FINAL #3 CIS championship: Top-ranked Windsor too much at home for Laval

Courtesy: University of Windsor sports information / Photo credit Edwin Tam
 
WINDSOR, Ont. (CIS) – The top-seeded and tournament host Windsor Lancers used a 25-7 second quarter to defeat the No. 8 Laval Rouge et Or 80-50 in the third quarter-final match of the CIS women’s basketball Final 8, Friday evening, in front of a crowd of 1,926 at the University of Windsor’s St. Denis Centre.
 
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb
 
The three-time reigning OUA champions advance to the national semifinals for the third straight year and will face either No. 4 Cape Breton or No. 5 Toronto Saturday at 8 p.m.
 
Windsor lost 86-68 to host Regina in the 2009 semis on its way to a fourth-place finish and beat Saskatchewan 82-60 a year ago in Hamilton en route the its first-ever appearance in the CIS title match (77-56 loss to Simon Fraser).
 
Laval, which kept a subpar 5-11 record in the regular season but used a pair of upsets in the Quebec playoffs to capture their seventh RSEQ banner in a row, move to the consolation side of the draw and will get back on the court Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
Ahead 16-12 after the opening quarter, the local favourites built an insurmountable 41-19 by halftime, and were up 61-29 after 30 minutes after holding their rivals scoreless for the first 5:30 of the third period.
 
“We got off to a little bit of a slow start but really picked it up from the second quarter on,” said Windsor head coach Chantal Vallée, who gave at least 10 minutes of playing time to 10 different players on the night. “Our best players took over, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be at this time of year.”
 
Fifth-year forward Raelyn Prince, a 6-foot-2 native of Windsor, was named player of the game following a 19-point, nine-rebound effort.
 
Six-foot-3 forward Jessica Clemençon, the reigning CIS MVP from France, added 16 points, while sophomore guard Miah-Marie Langlois of Windsor had 13.
 
“You can’t expect to win when you shoot two for 17 in the second quarter,” said Laval head coach Linda Marquis. “We have a young team and when we started missing some easy shots, the girls panicked a little, everyone wanted to do too much.”
 
Mélodie Laniel Dion of Quebec City tied for the game-high with 19 points in the losing cause. Second-team all-Canadian forward Marie-Michelle Genois of Cap-Santé, Que., had an 11-point, 14-board double-double.
 
The Lancers proved they will be hard to handle in this tournament because of the deep talent base they have. With three players scoring in double digits the Blue & Gold displayed a variety of options on the offensive side of the ball, while maintaining a blanketing defence.
   
Laval entered hostile territory as the home crowd deafened the building for the majority of the game. 
 
In the first quarter the Lancers controlled the tempo with Clemençon scoring six points while Langlois chipped in with five as the duo helped pace the Lancers.
 
Laval played tight defence battling in the paint during the first quarter, capitalizing on Windsor’s miscues allowing Laval to keep the score close. Laniel Dion led the charge with for the Rouge et Or with four points in the quarter.   
 
In the second, the Lancers took over with an explosion of offence and suffocating defence. The Blue & Gold dominated the paint scoring 26 of their 41 points in the half from the post position.
 
The balanced attack by the Lancers seemed to be too much for Laval, shooting 43.6% from field goal range, the Lancers had four players with over seven points in the half. 
 
Laval struggled from the field as they went 6-34 and committed ten turnovers in the half. 
 
Laniel Dion continued to be the catalyst for the Rouge et Or, chipping in with six of her team’s seven points in the second quarter. 
 
The third frame was much of the same for the Rouge et Or as the Lancers extended their lead to 61-19 heading into the final stanza.
 
The Lancer offence continued to click showing a variety of offensive weapons.  Jessica Clemencon continued her solid night chipping in with eight more points in the third quarter to double her total to 16. 
 
Laval increased the intensity in the fourth quarter as they put up their biggest offensive numbers of the night outscoring the Lancers 21-19, however couldn’t overcome the large deficit. 
 
GAME NOTES: Making their third-ever appearance at the Final 8, the Lancers improved to 3-for-3 in the opening round... Making their seventh straight Final 8 appearance and their 11th in 12 years, the Rouge et Or suffered their third consecutive quarter-final loss following setbacks against Alberta in 2009 and Regina in 2010...
 
STAT LEADERS
 
Windsor
Points: Raelyn Prince (19), Jessica Clemençon (16), Miah-Marie Langlois (13)
Rebounds: Bojana Kovacevic (9), Raelyn Prince (9), Miah-Marie-Langlois (8)
Assists: Miah-Marie Langlois (6), Morgan Jean (5)
 
Player of the game: Raelyn Prince
 
Laval
Points: Mélodie Laniel Dion (19), Marie-Michelle Genois (11), Julie Chapados (7)
Rebounds: Marie-Michelle Genois (14),
Assists: Marjorie Ferland (4)
 
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
20:00 Quarter-final #4: No. 5 Toronto vs. No. 4 Cape Breton (SSN Canada webcast)
 
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
 
Saturday, March 19
 
13:00 Consolation #1: No. 3 Carleton vs. No. 7 Wilfrid Laurier (SSN Canada webcast)
15:00 Consolation #2: No. 8 Laval vs. Loser QF #4 (SSN Canada webcast)
18:00 Semifinal #1: No. 6 StFX vs. No. 2 Saskatchewan (SSN Canada webcast) *
20:00 Semifinal #2: No. 1 Windsor vs. Winner QF #4 (SSN Canada webcast) *
 
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
 
Sunday, March 20
 
11:00 5th place game (SSN Canada webcast)
13:00 Bronze medal game (SSN Canada webcast) *
16:30 Championship final (Live on TSN)
 
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
 
-CIS-