Box Score
QUEBEC CITY – Marie-Pier Bastrash of Trois-Rivières, Que., scored a team-high of only eight points but it was sufficient to lead the No.9-ranked McGill in a 44-33 season-opening road win at Laval, Friday.

It was the lowest offensive output in a victory for the defending conference champions since Nov. 1, 2002, when the Martlets defeated York 40-33 at the Queen's Tri-colour Tournament in Kingston, Ont.

On a more positive note, it also the Martlets ninth straight conquest over their bitter provincial rivals, since a 74-68 setback in Montreal on Nov. 12, 2011.

McGill, which led from start to finish, had a solid first half, going ahead 20-8 after the opening quarter and 31-13 heading into the intermission. But they only tallied three points in the third stanza and carried a 34-21 advantage into the final stanza, where they were outscored 12-10.

"It was a tale of two halves," said Ryan Thorne, in his 11^th season as head coach of the Martlets. "We didn't play well and needed to have better offensive leadership. Our energy and effort just wasn't there in the second half. When things didn't go well, we weren't sure where to go with the ball and we were scrambling. That said, a win is a win and we'll take it."

The Martlets shot 35.5 per cent from the field in the first half and only 4.3 per cent in the second half to finish the game at 22.2. They went 5-for-10 from three-point range in the opening half but were 0-for-3 the rest of the way. They shot 65.2 from the foul-line, making 15 of 23 attempts.

Laval was even worse, shooting 4-for-12 from the charity stripe. They connected on 30.2 per cent of their field-goals and went-3-for-8 from the three-point line.

The Rouge et Or had a 34-32 edge in rebounding. The good news was that they forced McGill into 26 turnovers. The bad news was that Laval committed an astonishing 38 turnovers of their own.

Power forward Mariam Sylla and point-guard Francoise Charest were each held to just seven points in the victory, with Sylla pulling down nine rebounds. Helene Bibeau grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, to go along with three points.

Genevieve Derome topped all Laval scorers with a game-high nine points.

Both teams will go back to the drawing board and look for a drastic improvement their next time out. The Martlets (1-0) play at UQAM (1-0) on Nov. 16 at 5 p.m., while Laval (0-1) is at Bishop's on Nov. 22.

COMPLETE BOXSCORE:
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