In the first day of action on March 5, the 2020 U Sports Final 8 women’s basketball quarterfinals featured some close games and finished with four winners from four different conferences.
UPEI, Brock, Laval and Saskatchewan move on to the semi finals.
Ryerson vs UPEI:
The UPEI Panthers prevailed over the Ryerson Rams 75-70 in a game of runs. The teams traded baskets early, with UPEI’s three-point shooting allowing them to carry a 29-28 lead at halftime.
Ryerson guard (and Ottawa native) Marin Scotten would catch fire in the third quarter with three-point shooting and finishing inside as well. She scored 31 points and played all 40 minutes.
However, Panthers rookie Lauren Rainford would match Scotten’s production from three, shooting four-for-five from beyond the arc.
Ryerson’s offence scored 28 points in the third quarter – totalling their first half score – but went quiet for most of the fourth after UPEI changed their defence.
The Panthers went on a run and withstood Ryerson guard Hayley Robertson’s threes at the end. Reese Baxendale knocked down a number of free throws to secure the victory.
“Resilience and toughness,” UPEI head coach Matt Gamblin said. “For us to take their runs and only be down 10, able to close the gap without panicking in the team’s first national tournament in 20 plus years, we showed our toughness.”
Calgary vs Brock
The Brock Badgers prevailed 72-71 in a back-and-forth match with the Calgary Dinos. Symbolically, it was OUA and U Sports Player of the Year Melissa Tatti who scored the game winning basket. Meanwhile, the Dinos had a chance to win the game but missed a floater.
Brock went ahead early in the game but the Dinos fought back. Calgary continued to fire away from the three-point line, shooting 12-for-35 in the game. The teams traded baskets with the Dinos holding a slim lead until Tatti capped the comeback.
“They shot the ball extremely well and they boarded extremely well,” Brock head coach Mike Rao said of Calgary. “So we had those two things to combat and I thought offensively, we didn’t move the ball as well as we could have but we made enough.”
Brock’s three-point shooting was key as well, with fourth-year senior Jessica Morris hitting five-of-seven from deep. Calgary’s Reyna Crawford led her team with three three-pointers.
“We just got into a buggy game with the OUA champion,” Calgary head coach Damian Jennings said. “We just got a style of basketball that we didn’t execute as well as we wanted to.”
Jennings said the team’s revised goal is to finish fifth. “The consolation gold is very difficult to get but we want to play two more games of basketball at this tournament and that’s what we’re going to do,” he noted.
Laval vs Alberta
The matchup between the Laval Rouge-et-Or and the Alberta Pandas started off just like the previous two quarterfinal matchups – a tight game – until the fourth quarter. Laval pulled away for a 59-52 victory after building up a double-digit lead.
“I think it was a really really hard team to play against,” Laval guard Carrie-Ann Auger said. “We played hard on defence. Offensively, we struggled a little bit in the first half but after that, we kind of picked it up.”
Auger had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. Meanwhile her teammate Khaleann Caron-Goudreau had a double-double with 17 points and 19 rebounds.
Caron-Goudreau, a Gatineau native, won the U Sports Defensive Player of the Year award in the awards gala in her hometown. Now, the fifth-year forward will finish her Laval career at home as well.
“it’s an honour to be home,” she said. “it’s rare that players get to play their last game at home so I couldn’t be happier to be here with the team and then move on.”
Carleton vs Saskatchewan
The hosting Carleton Ravens were knocked out after losing to the Saskatchewan Huskies, 73-59. Read the full length recap here.
Feature image by Spencer Colby
