U SPORTS Final 8: Second-half defence leads McGill to quarterfinal win over McMaster
REGINA, Sask. (U SPORTS) – McGill surrendered just 12 second-half points en route to a 55-39 victory over McMaster on Thursday afternoon in a U SPORTS women’s basketball quarter-final at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
McMaster led by as many as eight points in the first half and took a 27-22 advantage into the halftime break, but it was all Martlets after that. McGill went on a 12-2 run in the third to take the lead for good, and another eight straight points by the Martlets in the fourth quarter – while McMaster went well over five minutes without scoring – put McGill in complete control of the contest with a late 14-points lead.
“I thought we had a slow start today, and we lacked urgency early. It was a really physical game and we didn’t match that early but it got better in the second half,” McGill head coach Ryan Thorne said. “We need to have that urgency and play the way we did at the end right from the start. There’s no pacing yourselves at a national championship – we need to play in the lanes and play defensively from the beginning.”
The McGill victory sets up a semifinal matchup against No. 1 seed Carleton, which defeated Calgary earlier on Thursday. That game will tip off at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT on Saturday afternoon.
Frédérique Potvin led all players with 16 points for McGill, while Marie-Love Michel played a game-high 35 minutes and finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Veteran post Alex Kiss-Rusk chipped in with six points while pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds.
Linnaea Harper finished with a double-double for McMaster, leading the Marauders in both points (10) and rebounds (10). Jelena Mamic and Olivia Watson both had nine points, while Hilary Hanaka finished with eight. McMaster was limited to just 20.7 per cent shooting from the field, finishing 12-for-58 overall.
McMaster will be back in action on Friday night at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT with a consolation semifinal game against the Dinos.
Players of the Game
McGill: Frédérique Potvin
McMaster: Linnaea Harper