It was an eventful trip out East for both the women’s and men’s Huskie basketball team as they finished fourth and fifth at their respective national championships.

The men were in Toronto March 11–15 and defeated the University of Windsor Lancers in the fifth-place game, while the women were in Laval, Que. during the same time span and were defeated by the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the bronze medal game. 

An extremely tough matchup with the Carleton University Ravens wasn’t exactly the start to the tournament the men were looking for. The four-time defending national champs came out hot and before the Huskies could blink, it was 28–10. Another big second quarter by the Ravens had them out in front 40–18 at half-time. Great shooting, excellent rebounding and some good team defence allowed Carleton to control the pace of the game and the Huskies couldn’t settle into any rhythm on offence.

The second half wasn’t much different and the Ravens walked away victorious with a 90–50 win. Ben Baker was the lone bright spot for the Dogs as he continued his strong play from the conference tournament with an 11 point, seven rebound and six assist game.

Carleton proceeded to roll through the tournament and finished off the incredible five-peat with wins over the University of Victoria Vikes and the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Game two went a little more according to plan as the Atlantic University Sport champion Dalhousie University Tigers were knocked off at the hands of the eighth seeded Huskies. The victory came in large part to a massive game from Evan Ostertag as he had 32 points, four rebounds and four assists in the contest. Trailing by seven at the half, Saskatchewan’s size and depth allowed them to take over in the final 20 minutes. They had a 12–3 advantage on the offensive glass and a 25–8 edge in the total rebounds in the second half, which set up many second chance points and limited Dalhousie’s offence. In the fourth frame, it was all Huskies as they outscored the Tigers 25–8  en route to a 90–79 win. With the win, they advanced to the consolation final.

On March 14, the second seeded Lancers and Huskies did battle with Dadrian Collins proving to be the hero in his final CIS game as the Dogs took the consolation final by a score of 99–94. The Williamsburg, Va. native had 29 points and eight rebounds — including a clutch three-pointer with 38 seconds left to seal the victory. A very solid defensive effort held the Ontario University Athletics silver medalists to just 40 per cent shooting in the game. Also playing in his final game was Baker and he didn’t disappoint, nearly collecting a triple-double, with 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. The fifth-place finish at nationals was the second straight for the men’s team.

On the women’s side, Saskatchewan entered as the fourth seeded team and they lived up to the billing in the quarter-finals. In an exciting back-and-forth game, the Dogs would come out on top with a 70–63 victory over their conference rivals, the University of Alberta Pandas. Riley Humbert was the offensive catalyst on this night as she poured in 23 points on 5–7 shooting from beyond the arc and paced the Dogs’ attack all night. Defensively, they held Saskia van Ginhoven and Jessilyn Fairbanks to just 25 points combined, which was a huge key to the win.

That would set up a semifinal date with the four-time reigning national champions, the Lancers, on March 14, with the winner advancing to the national championship game. Much like the men and their matchup with Carleton, the Lancers were just a better team and overpowered the Huskies with a 75–61 win. The score makes it seem a little closer than it was, as the lead was 25 points at one point in the fourth. Guard Laura Dally did everything in her power to get the Huskies a win, as she had 22 points in the losing cause. Korissa Williams was too much to handle on this night as she recorded 24 points and 12 rebounds in the decisive win.

Windsor moved on and defeated the McGill University Martlets 60–47 in the final to secure their fifth straight title and cement their CIS legacy. Williams finished her CIS career with five national championships.

From there, the Huskies turned their attention to the bronze medal game where they took on a familiar foe, the Thunderbirds, who just one week prior stole the Canada West title from Huskies with a 68–67 win. From the beginning, it didn’t look as though the Huskies’ heads were in it as they shot just 34 per cent from the field and committed 13 turnovers. Kris Young was the T-birds hero last time these teams met and she was huge again this time around, with 25 points in the game. Dally was magnificent once again with 21 points, while Kelsey Trulsrud tallied a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. The fourth place finish at nationals was the second straight for the women’s team.

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Photo: Yan Doublet