Derek Drummond

Box Score

THE FAB FIVE: Seniors (L to R): Mariam Sylla, Stephanie Blais, Jennifer Silver, Gabriela Hebert & Dianna Ros (injured)

UQAM UQAM-W 9-7

McGill MCGILL-W 15-1

UQAM UQAM-W

9-7

Final

Mar. 05, 2016

McGill MCGILL-W

15-1

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
UQAM UQAM-W	9	10	19	8	46
McGill MCGILL-W	20	13	12	19	64

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 3/5/2016 9:38:00 PM | Kirsten Whelan

Seniors shine as Martlet cagers conclude campaign with 13th consecutive win, head for RSEQ Final Four

Next Game:

**Concordia (RSEQ Semifinal)

3/10/2016 | 6:00 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule

Mar. 10 (Thu) / 6:00 PM

**Concordia (RSEQ Semifinal)

History

Recap
Roster

MONTREAL -- Jennifer Silver of Montreal scored 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds as No.1-ranked McGill defeated the UQAM Citadins 64-46 to close the regular season of RSEQ women's basketball, at Love Competition Hall on Saturday.

The Martlets finished with a near-flawless 15-1 record and enter the post-season on a 13-game winning streak (including an exhibition victory over McMaster on Dec. 28). McGill hosts the RSEQ Final Four tournament March 10-12, where the home side will face Concordia at 6 p.m. on Thursday in a bid to challenge for the conference title and guarantee a spot at the CIS national championship.

Silver shot 5-for-8 from the floor, 1-for-3 from the free-throw line and scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, helping her team recover from a weak third period. Seven of her game-high nine rebounds were pulled down in the defensive zone. She was also credited with an assist, one block and a steal.

"She's a difference maker," said Martlets head coach Ryan Thorne of his 5-foot-11 forward. "A solid player who does the little things and that's where the opportunity is for our team to be successful."

Silver, a third-year medical student, was one of five seniors honoured in an emotional post-game ceremony involving the parents and families and Thorne addressing the crowd on a hand-held microphone. In addition to Silver, forward Stephanie Blais of Sherbrooke, Que., was recognized along with co-captains Mariam Sylla of Guinea, Gabriela Hebert of Chicoutimi, Que., and Dianna Ros of Montreal, the latter two being fifth-year veterans.

"It's been difficult," offered Thorne about losing a large senior class, although Sylla and Silver still have ligibility remaining and could return. "They've been a big part of the program -- especially the two fifth-year kids, they've been a part of the turnaround, so it definitely was an emotional situation and it probably boiled over once we got to the end and I had to actually speak about it."

McGill took the lead early and never rescinded but struggled in the third quarter when UQAM narrowed a 14-point gap to just four, ultimately outscoring the Martlets 19-12 in the frame. The score was 20-9 after the first quarter, 33-19 at halftime and 45-38 after three.

"With them resting their best players (for next week's playoffs), I don't think we played with the sense of urgency we needed to," Thorne explained. "At times I think it was sloppy, especially in the second half. We've got to make sure that we... play a certain way, no matter who's on the court."

Alex Kiss-Rusk, a psychology junior from Beaconsfield, Que., scored a game-high 14 points, nabbed five rebounds, stole two balls and chipped in a pair of assists. She shot 6-for-11 from the floor and nailed both her free throws. Social work freshman Gladys Hakizimana of Montreal tallied a dozen points, to go along with four rebounds and three assists. She sank half of her eight shots from the floor, including a 2-for-5 effort from beyond the three-point arc, and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the line.

Hebert, an industrial relations senior, scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds. She also stole the ball twice and led all players with six assists. Marie-Love Michel, a physical education sophomore from Montreal, went an impeccable 4-for-4 from the charity stripe and totaled six points. Sylla, who only played 24 minutes, was held to just five points with seven rebounds. She shot an uncharacteristic 0-for-10 from the field, but went 5-for-8 from the line.

Lorna Desrameaux-Simon of Montreal led the Citadins with 12 points and collected four rebounds, followed by teammate Sarah Cabana of St. Hubert, Que., who had 11 points and five rebounds.

The Martlets shot 36.1 per cent from the field (22/61) and went 5-for-12 from three-point range. They succeeded on 15 of 20 free throws, making nine of them in the second half. UQAM shot 28.8 per cent overall (17/59), 2-for-9 from beyond the arc and 10-for-13 from the line.

McGill had a 31-30 edge in rebounds and a 5-1 lead in blocked shots, while the Citadins had a 10-4 advantage in steals. Both teams committed a lofty 21 turnovers.

The Martlets (15-1), who finished atop the Quebec league standings for the fifth consecutive season, now prepares to host the RSEQ Final Four championship tournament, March 10-12. McGill will host fourth-seeded Concordia (7-9) in a sudden-death semifinal on Thursday, 6 p.m. The Martlets swept all four meetings with the Stingers this season, winning 59-54 and 72-70 (OT) at home along with 64-49 and 77-64 cictories on the road.

That game will be followed by the other semifinal at Love Competition Hall between third-seeded UQAM (9-7) and second-place Laval, who were also 9-7 but hold the head-to-head tie-breaker.

The two teams left standing after the dust clears will meet in the winner-take-all league championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m. Advance tickets can be purchased online.

"We're better as a group than we are individually," said Thorne, looking towards the RSEQ Final Four. "If we play as a unit and we play disciplined I think we'll be good, we'll be okay. If the emotions take over and we try to do things one-on-one, by ourselves, anybody can beat us."

MARTLET MURMURS: The Martlets finished the season with the top defence in the country, allowing an average of just 50.7 points per game... They also had the stingiest opposition field-goal shooting at 31.6 per cent... Offensively, McGill was ranked 27th across the CIS with 63.6 points per game... The Martlets free-throw shooting (76.2%) ranked second and their three-point shooting (33.8%) ranked fifth... McGill leads the all-time series against UQAM with 36 victories in 57 confrontations... Fifth-year point-guard Dianna Ros sat out her fourth-straight contest with an undisclosed injury… Sophomore point-guard Marika Guerin also has not played since leaving last week's game with an injury.