Rams earn first-ever win at national tourney

(Photo: Yan Doublet)

QUEBEC CITY (CIS) – The Ryerson Rams made sure to get back into the win column Friday night at the PEPS Gym of Université Laval, winning their first national championship game in the history of the program. Ryerson defeated the Saint Mary's Huskies 76-60 and will play for fifth place on Saturday at the ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS Women's Basketball Final 8 tournament in Quebec City.

After defeating the Huskies, the No. 7 seed Rams will try to win the consolation final at 4:30pm Saturday against the winner of the Laval Rouge et Or and Alberta Pandas second consolation matchup.

 "I was really pleased with the way we played. I thought we got contribution from a bunch of different people and in different ways," said Rams head coach Carly Clarke. "We can still come away with two wins here and that would be something to be pretty proud of. We were amped up with the opportunity and a little bit more relaxed today. We had a great start, which was nice to see."

The Huskies season ended after two defeats in as many outings this weekend. The early tournament exit comes with some disappointment as Saint Mary's was last year's runner-up at the CIS championship.

 "It's a tough way to end the season. We talked about it before the game, there was another game on the schedule and we wanted to come here and play the three games," said Huskies coach Scott Munro. "Ryerson did really well today, they did a good job. They knocked down some shots right out of the gate and that got us into a hole. They had 23 points in the first quarter and 25 in the fourth, which was too much for us."

After a disappointing opening round exit the day before, the Rams worked quickly to build up a 16-4 lead in their consolation semifinal. Rams first-year guard Cara Tiemens was deadly from behind the arc, going three for three, most notably a three-pointer just before the shot clock expired in the first quarter. Ryerson's dominant play continued for much of the second helping to add to their lead displaying both solid defence and hot shooting.

The Huskies biggest threat in the first half was fourth-year forward Laura Langille with 10 points. At the break, Ryerson was ahead 41-26.

Saint Mary's managed to make things interesting to start the third, clawing their way back into the game. Thanks in large part to second-year forward Carly Nugent's two three-pointers, the Huskies trailed by only seven after three. At this point in the game Rams guard Keneca Pingue-Giles displayed why she was Ryerson's leading scorer throughout the year. In less than a minute, she scored seven points, the last of which was a three-pointer putting her side up 60-44.

The Huskies could not turn momentum back in their favour, especially with the solid play of game MVP Sofia Paska, who managed 23 points. The Rams would go on to win 76-60. 

STAT LEADERS

RYE 23-18-10-25:76
SMU 12-14-17-17: 60

Ryerson
Points: Sofia Paska (23), Keneca Pingue-Giles (15), Cara Tiemens (14)
Rebounds: Keneca Pingue-Giles (11), Annie Sokoloff (9)
Assists: Keneca Pingue-Giles (6)

Player of the game: Sofia Paska

Saint Mary's
Points: Carlie Nugent (12), Emma Valikoski (11), Laura Langille (10)
Rebounds: Katrina Murrell (7), Kennisha-Shanice Lub (6)
Assists: Laura Langille (3), Alexandra Smye (3), Angelina Carvery (3)

Player of the game: Emma Valikoski

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Thursday, March 12
12:30 Quarter-final 1: No. 3 McGill 67, No. 6 Saint Mary's 59
14:30 Quarter-final 2: No. 2 UBC 81, No. 7 Ryerson 59
18:00 Quarter-final 3: No. 1 Windsor 91, No. 8 Laval 57
20:00 Quarter-final 4: No. 4 Saskatchewan 70, No. 5 Alberta 63

Friday, March 13
18:00 Consolation 1: No. 7 Ryerson 76, No. 6 Saint Mary's 60
20:00 Consolation 2: No. 8 Laval vs. No. 5 Alberta (www.CIS-SIC.tv) 

Saturday, March 14
12:00 Semifinal 1: No. 3 McGill vs. No. 2 UBC (Sportsnet ONE / www.CIS-SIC.tv) * 
14:30 Semifinal 2: No. 1 Windsor vs. No. 4 Saskatchewan (Sportsnet ONE / www.CIS-SIC.tv) * 
16:30 5th-place game: No. 5 Ryerson vs. Winner Consolation 2 (www.CIS-SIC.tv) 

Sunday, March 15
10:00 Bronze (www.CIS-SIC.tv)  
13:00 Final (Sportsnet 360 / www.CIS-SIC.tv) * 

* The ENGLISH webcast of the semifinals & final are on pay-per-view basis. The French webcast is free.

Source: CIS