Defending champ Lancers down McGill in exhibition action

QUEBEC CITY -- Andrea Kiss, a 6-foot-1 senior from Tecumseh, Ont., scored 13 points as the unranked but defending national champion Windsor Lancers overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat No.2 McGill 53-49 in a CIS women's basketball exhibition game at Laval's Amphithéâtre-gymnase Desjardins, Sunday.

It was only the second loss of the season for McGill, which dropped to 7-2 against CIS opponents. The Lancers, who have won five consecutive CIS titles, improved to 8-5.

The Martlets led 17-9 after the opening quarter and were up by as much as 28-11 before settling for a 31-20 advantage at halftime. They unravelled after the intermission, however, as the Lancers outscored McGill 18-9 in the third quarter and 15-9 in the final stanza.

Windsor shot 31 per cent from the floor (18/58), made three of 12 three-pointers and sank 14 of 18 attempts from the foul-line, while McGill connected on 29 per cent (20/69), drained only four of 22 from beyond the arc and went 5-for-9 from the line.

Point-guard Dianna Ros led McGill with 13 points to go along with a half-dozen assists and three steals. Teammate Mariam Sylla posted a "double-double" in a losing cause with 12 points and a dozen rebounds. The next highest scoring McGill player was Alex Kiss-Rusk, who was held to five points but pulled down eight rebounds.

Windsor committed a whopping 27 turnovers compared to 20 by McGill, but had a 42-37 margin in rebounds. The Martlets held an 11-8 advantage in steals and both teams had four blocked shots.

The Lancers play Ottawa on Monday at 11:30 a.m., while McGill meets No.5-ranked McMaster in another exhibition game at Quebec City on Monday at 3:30 p.m.

Source: McGill Athletics