Box Score
QUEBEC CITY – Mariam Sylla registered another "double-double" with 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the top-seeded McGill University women's basketball team to a 63-50 victory over third-seeded UQAM in the  championship game at the RSEQ Final Four tournament, Saturday.

It was a school record third consecutive league title for McGill and their ninth since joining the Quebec league in 1972.

The Martlets will be making their third straight trip and ninth overall to the CIS championships, which are slated for Windsor, March 14-16.

McGill saved one of their best defensive performances for the most important game of the season. They held UQAM to just 21.2 per cent shooting from the floor (14/66).

"The girls followed the defensively game plan," said Martlets head coach Ryan Thorne. "Having played them four times we know their stuff pretty well, so the girls were able to control the game on that end of the floor."

The intensity on the defensive end gave McGill a 14-6 led after the opening frame. It was a quarter where the Citadins did not knock down a single field goal as all six points came from the free-throw stripe.

"From the first minute of the game we wanted to make a point, "said Martlet co-captain Helene Bibeau on what she believed was their best defensive game of the year. "We knew they like to be aggressive and attack the basket so we tried to match that intensity and meet them at the rim."

Camille Michaud finally penetrated for UQAM with a transition layup at the 7:19 mark of the second quarter but the Citadins still found themselves down 32-19 at the half. The Martlets continued their strong play after the break, taking a 51-31 advantage into the final stanza before downshifting and deploying the becnh in the final stanza, when UQAM outscored McGill 19-12.

Sylla, a 6-foot-1 forward from Guinea, was an impressive 9-for-14 from the field and made 4-of-6 free-throw attempts. She was aggressive from the get go and took advantage of early UQAM foul trouble, including three first-half fouls on all-star forward Jessica Lubin.

"The fact that their best "big" was in foul trouble and they weren't really deep in the post position we ran a lot of our sets through Mariam," said Thorne, who was also impressed with Sylla's hustle and ability to capitalize on second-chance opportunities. "She does a great job finding rebounds. When other people attack and defenders step in to help, Mariam stays aggressive and hits the glass, cleaning up a lot of our misses."

Diana Ros and Jennifer Silver provided strong secondary scoring for the Martlets. Ros, a third-year guard from Montreal, had 12 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Silver, the rookie of the year in the RSEQ conference, came off the bench and also attacked in the low paint adding nine points and three rebounds.

The Citadins were led by Valerie Gauvin who had 18 points, four rebounds and three steals. She was 3-for-6 from downtown and scored five points from the line but really struggled around the hoop, shooting a woeful 18 per cent from inside the arc. Questeline Celestin also struggled from the floor, going 3-for-13. She collected the majority of her 16 points from the charity stripe, posting an impressive 9-for-11 performance.

McGill shot 42.9 per cent from the field (21/49), went 2-for-9 from three-point range and 19-for-27 from the foul-line. UQAM, which managed to throw up a 66 field goal attempts, only made 14 shots from the floor. They went 4-for-14 from beyond the arc and 18-for-22 from the free-throw line.

The Martlets will now turn their attention to Nationals, where they feel they could make some noise. "I think the stress is gone now," mentioned Bibeau. "We have (already) been there two straight years and know the routine, plus we will be the underdogs with no real pressure."

Thorne likes the depth of his team but knows it will be long grueling process, "This is probably one of the deeper teams we've had over the past few years," he said. "We got a ton of talent but still must take it one game at a time. All our energy and preparation must go into winning that first-round matchup."

MARTLET MURMURS: In their previous eight appearances at the CIS championship, the Martlets own a 7-13 lifetime record… Their only medal was a bronze after a 75-72 overtime win over Western in 1996... McGill is looking to be the third women's basketball champion from Quebec (Bishop's won twice: in 1983 and 1984)... Previous McGill appearances were in 1974 (0-2, fourth), 1986 (0-2, seventh), 1988 (1-2, sixth), 1993 (0-2, seventh), 1995 (1-2, fifth), 1996 (2-1, third), 2012 (0-2, seventh) and 2013 (2-1, fifth).


FOR FURTHER INFO PLEASE CONTACT:

Ryne Bondy or Earl Zukerman
Sports Info Office
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
514-398-1956 (Fax)