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CONSOLATION #2 CIS championship: Schutz leads Blues to consolation final
Courtesy: University of Windsor sports information /
Photo credit Keenan Greer
WINDSOR, Ont. (CIS) – Nicki Schutz scored a career-high 35
points to lead the fifth-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues to an 82-79
win over the No. 8 Laval Rouge et Or in the second consolation
match of the CIS women’s basketball Final 8, Saturday
afternoon, at the University of Windsor’s St. Denis
Centre.
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb
The OUA bronze medallist Blues, who lost 58-49 to No. 4 Cape Breton
in Friday’s quarter-final round, advance to Sunday’s 11
a.m. fifth-place game where they will face No. 7 Laurier.
The victory was Toronto’s first at the Final 8 since a 73-59
win over Lakehead in the 1997 quarters.
Quebec champion Laval returns home with an 0-2 record for the first
time since 2007. The Rouge et Or had finished sixth each of the
past two years, and fourth in 2008.
Both selected to the second all-Canadian team this season, Schutz,
a fifth-year forward from Toronto, and Laval’s Marie-Michelle
Genois, also a fifth-year senior from Cap-Santé, Que., put
on a spectacular show for the St. Denis Centre fans.
Schutz added 13 rebounds to earn game-MVP honours, while Genois,
playing in her final university contest tallied 27 points and
matched Schutz 13 boards.
“The biggest difference today was that we came out fired
up,” said Schutz. “Michèle (Coach
Bélanger) told us we had to win the rebounding battle and
win the loose balls and we did that today. It was a close game and
Jo (Medri) came up with a great board at the end for us.”
In their first CIS championship appearance since 2008 Toronto
managed to advance to the consolation final for the first time
since 1993 when they beat Western 81-59.
The Blues came out on fire against Laval. The first quarter saw
them shoot 42.1% from the field, while Schutz scored 10 points and
six rebounds to help pace the Blues to an early 20-16 lead.
The second quarter saw the Blues push the pace in an attempt to
increase their lead. However, by the end of the quarter Laval
had managed to close the gap even further to 39-35 after a team
effort that saw four players combine for 32 of their
points.
Genois and Mélodie Laniel Dion both had nine points at the
end of the first half to lead the Rouge et Or. Genois also led
Laval in rebounds with six.
With only four points to overcome after the break the Rouge et Or
chipped away at the small Toronto lead.
Scoring by committee, Laval rallied midway through the third
quarter to take the lead from the Blues. However, by the end
of the quarter Toronto would regain the lead riding another strong
performance by Schutz, who had an incredible 30 points and 13
rebounds by the end of the third quarter.
Toronto’s strong play continued, with only seven turnovers
and eight steals the Varsity Blues possessed the ball and
controlled the clock heading into the final frame.
The fourth quarter saw the Rouge et Or keep the score tight, taking
advantage of a few defensive miscues Laval rallied from down 9 to
tie the game with five minutes remaining. The last five minutes saw
the pace increase as both teams exchanged leads multiple times,
however Toronto managed to come away with the win.
GAME NOTES: Schutz’s previous career-high was 34 points in a
regular season game against Waterloo on Nov. 7, 2009... In the only
previous meeting between the two teams at the CIS Final 8, in 1996,
Toronto prevailed 89-69 in the quarter-final round...
STAT LEADERS
TOR 20-19-24-19: 82
LAV 16-19-19-25: 79
Toronto
Points: Nicki Schutz (35), Erin McNeely (17), Sherri
Pierce (9)
Rebounds: Nicki Schutz (13), Erin McNeely (6)
Assists: Erin McNeely (3), Jill Stratton (3)
Player of the game: Nicki Schutz
Laval
Points: Marie-Michelle Genois (27), Elyse Jobin (15),
Mélodie Laniel Dion (14)
Rebounds: Marie-Michelle Genois (13), Sandrine Ducruc (5)
Assists: Marjorie Ferland (6), Elyse Jobin (5)
CHAMPIONSHIP
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Friday, March 18
Quarter-final #1: StFX 50, Carleton 44
Quarter-final #2: Saskatchewan 58, Wilfrid Laurier 51
Quarter-final #3: Windsor 80, Laval 50
Quarter-final #4: Cape Breton 58, Toronto 49
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
Saturday, March 19
Consolation #1: Wilfrid Laurier 56, Carleton 52
Consolation #2: Toronto 82, Laval 79
18:00 Semifinal #1: No. 6 StFX vs. No. 2 Saskatchewan (SSN Canada
webcast) *
20:00 Semifinal #2: No. 1 Windsor vs. No. 4 Cape Breton (SSN Canada
webcast) *
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
Sunday, March 20
11:00 5th place game: No. 7 Wilfrid Laurier vs. No. 5 Toronto (SSN
Canada webcast)
13:00 Bronze medal game (SSN Canada webcast) *
16:30 Championship final (Live on TSN)
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
-CIS-
