No. 1 Lancers move one step closer to history

QUEBEC CITY (CIS) – After putting up a dominant quarterfinal performance, the Windsor Lancers were equally impressive in the second semifinal of the ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS Women's Basketball Championship. The Lancers defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies 75-61 Saturday afternoon at the PEPS Gym of Université Laval and will now have a chance to match a record by winning a fifth straight Bronze Baby trophy.

Leading by 12 points after the first quarter, the OUA champions were never really pressed during their semifinal victory. They now face a tough test against the McGill Martlets Sunday at 1 pm Eastern time. 

With a win, Windsor would match the five consecutive national titles won by Laurentian from 1975 to 1979. At the individual level, fifth-year guards Korissa Williams and Jocelyn LaRocque could become the first players ever awarded five CIS women's basketball rings.

"Obviously we are very pleased with the game. We thought both teams played strong, which we expected in a semifinal game. We are very happy to be out of it with a win," said Lancers coach Chantal Vallée. "I think we stayed focussed, at least I hope so as a coach! The girls wanted to play in the big game tomorrow." 

Vallée does not expect tomorrow's match to come easy. "It's going to be a tough game, we played McGill at Christmas and it was really tight. They just had an outstanding semifinal on their own and I am sure they are going to be ready." 

Saskatchewan will hope to end on a high when they play for the bronze medal Sunday at 10 am Eastern. They will meet the UBC Thunderbirds, a team that has already beaten them 69-68 in the final of the Canada West conference. The Huskies will also hope they can improve on their fourth-place finish a year ago. 

"I just think we dug ourselves into a hole", stated Huskies coach Lisa Thomaidis. "At the beginning of the game I thought we had some great looks at the rim to stay on pace with them early on, but those misses were really deflating when they got off a 12-point lead right of the bat. I'm very proud of our team and the way we battled but full credit to Windsor." 

Apart from the game's opening basket, a three-pointer by Huskies guard Riley Humbert, the first half belonged to the Lancers. Once again the nation's top-ranked team showed their grit scoring 16 of the games next 17 points. Windsor finished the first quarter ahead 20-8. 

As the second quarter began the Lancers kept pressing. Windsor added 28 points in the frame to go along with a 48% first-half field goal percentage. Leading the way for the Lancers were guards Korissa Williams and Kristine Lalonde with 13 and 12 points respectively. At the break, Windsor held a comfortable lead of 48-26. 

Despite the wide gap to start the second half, the Huskies continued to fight. Their efforts even helped them win the third quarter 17-16, and fourth quarter 18-11. Saskatchewan player of the match Laura Dally contributed 8 of her 22 points during the second half. The Lancers, however, were on autopilot, finishing the game fairly easily knowing all they had to do was hold onto their lead.

Source: CIS