CIS women's basketball Wednesday roundup

Natalie Larocque of Quebec City scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds in a losing cause for the Martlets, who posted an impressive 21-8 record versus CIS teams this season but must now wait until Monday to learn if they have received a wild-card berth to a CIS regional tournament in western Canada, March 11-12, for the right to go to Nationals.

Laval, which lost three out of four meetings against McGill during the regular season, advances to Saturday's league championship game at UQAM, which defeated Concordia 65-54 in the other semifinal.

Larocque was one of four Martlets to reach double figures in scoring. Francoise Charest of Quebec City and rookie Roya Assadi of Vancouver, B.C., had a dozen points apiece and Marie-Eve Martin of Granby, Que., registered 10. Anneth Him-Lazarenko, McGill's 5-foot-10 power forward from Laval, Que., who led the league in scoring with a 15.6 average, was held to eight points and was credited with a team-high 11 rebounds.

For the Rouge et Or, Melodie Laniel-Dion Quebec City, contributed 14 and teammate Marie-Michelle Genois of Cap Santé, Que., posted a "double-double" with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

McGill took an early 2-0 lead but Laval quickly took over on their first shot, a three-pointer by Jobin, and never trailed again. The Rouge et Or led 15-9 after the first quarter, 39-30 at the half and 58-46 after three stanzas.

The game was delayed for about 20 minutes in the third quarter after a fire alarm went off and the building had to be evacuated. Four fire trucks arrived but the alarm was believed to be caused by an overly sensitive sensor above the swimming pool.

After play resumed, Laval extended their lead to 14 points before McGill mounted a spirited comeback to make it 71-68 with 10 seconds remaining but that was as close as they got.

The Martlets had a huge 44-28 advantage in rebounds but were like the gang that could shoot straight. They shot 34.3 per cent from the floor, but despite leading the conference in three-point shooting, they only managed a paltry 10.3 per cent success rate from three-point range (3-for-29). McGill did shoot a sizzling 94.4 from the foul-line (17 of 18) but the damage was done. Laval shot a stellar 48.2 from the field, 37.5 from beyond the arc and 63.2 from the line.

Source: McGill Sports Info

Le duel entre Laval et l'UQAM aura donc lieu ce samedi 5 mars à 19h au Centre sportif UQAM.

Performance convaincante

La troupe de l'entraîneur-chef Jacques Verschuere a offert une solide performance en première demie en dominant les deux premiers quarts dans la colonne de points. À la mi-temps, les Citadins ont retraité au vestiaire avec une avance de 14 points.

Les Stingers se sont toutefois montrées très coriaces en deuxième demie en empêchant les représentantes de l'UQAM de se bâtir une avance insurmontable.

À moins de deux minutes à écouler au quatrième quart, Concordia a réussi à ramener l'écart à seulement cinq points. Karine Boudrias (baccalauréat en Sciences comptables – Terrebonne, QC) a toutefois répliqué immédiatement avec un panier de trois points pour redonner le « momentum » aux siennes. La troupe locale a ensuite été en mesure de résister à l'adversaire pour ainsi enlever les honneurs de la rencontre 65 à 54.

Émie Simard (baccalauréat en Gestion du tourisme et de l'hôtellerie – Varennes, QC) a offert une solide performance en inscrivant 21 points. Pour sa part, Marjolaine Gauthier-Théorêt (certificat en Communication – Deschaîllons, QC) a été la meneuse des Citadins au chapitre des rebonds avec un total de 13.

L'entraîneur Verschuere s'est dit bien heureux de la performance de ses joueuses. « Nous avons travaillé très fort toute la partie et toutes les filles ont bien fait sur le terrain. C'est également excitant de pouvoir disputer la grande finale à la maison. Ce sera une rencontre forte en émotion. »

Source: UQAM Sports Info