EDMONTON — After a hotly-contested quarterfinal round, day two of the U Sports women’s basketball national championship delivered stellar performances from the Saint Mary’s Huskies and Alberta Pandas, setting up the consolation final.
In the first semifinal, the Huskies dominated the UFV Cascades, securing a commanding 69-42 victory that left the Cascades trailing behind before they could react.
The day concluded with the Pandas defeating their provincial rival Calgary Dinos 65-59, much to the delight of their home crowd, who will see their Pandas play the Huskies in the consolation final on March 9 at 5 p.m. EST.
Saint Mary’s Huskies, 69, UFV Cascades, 42
Inefficient shooting and an undisciplined defensive front plagued the Cascades in their loss to a sharp-shooting Huskies squad. UFV’s inexperience showed in the first and final quarters, being outscored 51-20.
The Cascades endured a challenging first quarter similar to last night’s match against the Carleton Ravens, where the team trailed by 13 points after one quarter. Against the Huskies, UFV found themselves once again trailing by 15 points heading into the second quarter.
However, the pattern of the Cascades’ previous match continued to unfold in the second quarter, as they regained the same defensive structure that held the defending champions to just eight second-quarter points.
The towering duo of Julia and Deanna Tuchscherer hindered the Huskies’ efforts to get inside the paint. The pair combined for 18 rebounds and were often uncontested under the boards in the middle quarters.
The Cascades capped the Huskies at just nine second-quarter points but struggled on offence, making it a 36-25 Huskies lead going into the half.
Aggressive defending continued serving UFV well into the third quarter, but the attack became increasingly predictable, as the offence often relied on guard Maddy Gobeil getting into the paint. Three-point shooting was virtually non-existent, as the Cascades only mustered two threes on 19 attempts all game.
“We knew we had to match their intensity and try to get some bodies on them to not allow a lot of space,” Huskies head coach Scott Munro said. “We did a really nice job defensively.”
Another sore spot was free-throw shooting. The Cascades shot 10-for-20 (50 per cent) from the line compared to the Huskies’ 28-for-34 (82.4 per cent).
Despite their offensive struggles, UFV still held Saint Mary’s to another nine-point quarter.
In the final frame, the dam on the Huskies’ scoring finally broke.
Forced to the outside by a punishing UFV defence, Saint Mary’s fired from behind the arc far more in the final quarter, with great success. They picked up 27 points from behind the three-point line in the game.
The Cascades’ physical style also became a problem, as reckless swipes sent the Huskies to the charity stripe 27 times in the final half. Guards Courtney Donaldson and Alaina McMillan both went eight-for-eight from the line for Saint Mary’s.
At the end of the game, mistakes cost UFV more than anything their opponent did, resulting in a 27-point margin of defeat.
Alberta Pandas, 65, Calgary Dinos, 59
The Pandas and Dinos’ quarterfinal losses set the stage for a Battle of Alberta, which engaged the Saville Community Sports Centre crowd in a way only the provincial rivalry could.
Once again, Alberta fed off their fervent army of green and yellow-clad supporters to leap out in front.
After leading in a close 8-7 start, the Pandas embarked on an enormous 17-0 run, stretching halfway into the second quarter.
A buzzer-beater three from guard Jayden Tanner ended the first quarter and ran up the score to 20-7, sending Pandas fans into a delirium that shook the bleachers.
Following a humbling loss to the Saskatchewan Huskies the previous night, the Dinos once again looked completely out of place in a U Sports Final 8 game. Calgary’s multiple timeouts, air balls and shot clock violations made them easy pickings for the Pandas.
The Dinos’ miserable 17.9 per cent field goal percentage and 15 points against on turnovers handed Alberta a comfortable 33-16 edge heading into the half.
Calgary finally calmed things down in the third quarter, recording an 8-0 run to kick it off. Were it not for such a disastrous first half, the Dinos could’ve given the Pandas a run for their money, as they outscored Alberta 43-32 through the last half.
The Dinos relied heavily on the duo of forward Louise Rouse and guard Myriam Kone for offence, posting 36 of the team’s 59 total points.
Thanks to a massive and-one-three by Kone, Calgary closed what was an 18-point deficit to just four in the final minute of action, making the once-deafening crowd quiet in anticipation.
But the game’s final seconds devolved into a free-throw shootout, preventing the Dinos from redeeming their unfortunate first-half performance. The Pandas’ Jenna Harpe went 13-for-15 from the line, including eight-for-eight in the fourth quarter.
Alberta will host Saint Mary’s in the consolation final March at 5 p.m. EST.
Featured image by Owen Spillios-Hunter/The Charlatan.
