SASKATOON, Sask. - For the second consecutive season the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Huskie women's basketball team are top dogs.
The No. 1-seeded Huskies defeated the No. 2-seed UBC Thunderbirds 71-59 on the Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court and the Physical Activity Complex (PAC) in the Canada West Championship to capture their 10th conference title.
Canada West Player of the Year and First Team All-Star,
Gage Grassick produced a performance for the ages, recording 31 points to lead the Huskies to victory. The fourth-year guard would add seven assists, two steals, and a block for a sensational game at both ends of the court. Third-year guard
Maya Flindall was also fantastic in the win, totaling thirteen points, three assists, and two steals.
Olivia Harm led all players with eight rebounds.
"I thought we played a little bit tentative in the first half, a little bit nervous or just uncertain of how much pressure we could put on defensively," said Canada West Coach of the Year
Lisa Thomaidis. "They put a ton of pressure on us and caused some problems and we needed to make some adjustments. I thought we didn't lose out composure even though we were down nine at one point. Then in the last two minutes of the first half we were able to turn them over a little bit and get some stops there. The loose ball, crazy possession, she [
Gage Grassick] picked it up and drilled a three and tied it. That was enough to turn the tide and get us on the front foot in the second half."
The first half saw the Huskies fall behind early in what was a defensive battle to open the championship game. It was a significant advantage on the offensive glass that allowed the Thundebrirds to take the lead at the end of the opening quarter, but the impressive play of Flindall to draw fouls and get to the charity stripe allowed the Dogs to stay within striking distance.
Late in the second quarter it was a Grassick three followed by a Flindall layup that sparked an 11-4 run to tie the game. A late UBC bucket would see the T-Birds take a two-point lead in the half.
From there, it was all Huskies to start the second half, with the home team outscoring UBC 25-11 in the third.
Gage Grassick connected on two shots from beyond the arc while Flindall added six of her own.
With UBC needing to cut into the USask lead, the Huskie defence continued to make life difficult for the visitors. As time ran out for the Thunderbirds, Grassick dribbled out the remaining 19 seconds, sending the 2,475 fans in attendance into an uproar as their team solidified a title repeat.
"[It is] absolutely surreal," said Grassick. "The community of Saskatoon really showed up for us today, and you can see it in the crowd and the energy. It's an absolutely surreal feeling to be able to share that with my family on the basketball court, so on behalf of the Huskies, we just want to thank the community for coming out to support us all year long."
The Huskies will now turn their attention to the national stage as they look to return to the U SPORTS Championship game after suffering a narrow defeat to the Carleton Ravens at last year's Final Eight. The national tournament is set to take place next weekend from March 13-16, with the Thunderbirds set to host the best teams from across the nation in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"I think we learned lots from this one and it'll push us to another level," said Thomaidis "I think we're going to learn from this. It definitely feels good, we had some different people have to step up tonight and you can only gain confidence from that."
