MONTREAL – Tournament all-star Alex Kiss-Rusk posted another one of her patented "double-doubles" as McGill toppled the Waterloo Warriors 77-64 to sweep the 22nd annual Redbird Classic invitational women's basketball tournament at Love Competition Hall, Sunday.
 
It marked the fourth straight Redbird Classic title for the Martlets, who defeated Laurentian 59-44 on Friday, followed by a 79-50 victory over Dalhousie, Saturday. The Martlets posted a 3-0 record, while the other teams each went 1-2.
 
Kiss-Rusk, a 6-foot-4 centre from Beaconsfield, Que., scored a team-high 24 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. The psychology senior was 10-for-15 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. She also tallied four blocks, three assists and one steal.

Teammate Jennifer Silver of Montreal contributed a dozen points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists. The 5-foot-11 forward shot 6-for-13 from the field. Silver, a fourth-year medical student, was also named Tournament MVP after scoring a tourney-leading 39 points to go along with 26 rebounds over the weekend. The 22-year-old senior added eight steals, four assists and two blocked shots. She shot a red-hot 57.6 per cent from the field (19/33) and went 1-for-3 from the foul-line.

McGill led 14-12 after the first quarter and both teams racked up 26 points in the second stanza to give the Martlets a 40-38 lead at halftime. The Martlets had a strong third stanza, outscoring Waterloo 24-11 to break open the tightly-contested affair.
 
McGill rookie Fredericke Laflamme of Trois-Rivieres, Que., also reached double-digits with a 10-point soiree,

Tournament all-star Kristen Osborne, a 5-foot-8 guard from Markham, Ont., led the Warriors with a game-high 26 points. Rounding out the all-tourney team was Laurentian's Adriane Bruni and Dalhousie's Diedre Alexander.

The Martlets dominated the glass with an astounding 40-16 lead in rebounds. McGill had 16 of the offensive variety, which led to 17 second-chance points. They also had a 23-10 edge in assists, a 5-1 advantage in blocks, and stole seven balls compared to five by Waterloo. McGill shot an impressive 50.8 per cent from the field (33/65), 35.7 from three-point range (5/14) and went 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. The Warriors shot 38.3 per cent from the field (21/54), including 6-for-15 from downtown, and went 16-for-20 on free-throws.

McGill, which has won five consecutive contests and owns a 10-1 record in preseason play, will now switch their focus on a roadtrip to the nation's capital next weekend, where they will battle Carleton on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Ottawa on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

22nd ANNUAL McGILL REDBIRD BASKETBALL CLASSIC RESULTS

Friday, Oct. 21, 2016
Waterloo 67, Dalhousie 53
McGill 59, Laurentian 44

Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016
Laurentian 64, Waterloo 50
McGill 79, Dalhousie 50

Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016
Dalhousie 72, Laurentian 69
McGill 77, Waterloo 64

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McGill Redbird Classic All-Tournament Team
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Adriane Bruni, Laurentian
Diedre Alexander, Dalhousie
Kristen Osborne, Waterloo
Alex Kiss-Rusk, McGill
Jennifer Silver, McGill (Tournament MVP)

TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS: McGILL MARTLETS (4th consec. year)
 

2016 McGILL REDBIRD CLASSIC TOURNAMENT FINAL WOMEN'S STANDINGS:
TEAM	W	L	PF	PA	DIFF	PCT
McGill	3	0	215	158	+57	1.000
Laurentian	1	2	177	181	-4	0.333
Waterloo	1	2	181	194	-13	0.333
Dalhousie	1	2	175	215	-40	0.333

SOURCE:
Ryne Bondy & Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
(514) 398-7012