MONTREAL -- Alex Kiss-Rusk of Beaconsfield, Que., registered a "double-double" for the second consecutive outing as McGill defeated St. Francis Xavier 69-41 at Love Competition Hall on Friday in its opening game of the annual Redbird Classic exhibition women's basketball tournament.

The Martlets, who improved their preseason record to 5-1, had a 13-9 advantage after the first quarter and jumped to a 30-15 lead at halftime before carrying a 46-29 margin into the final frame.

Kiss-Rusk, a 6-foot-4 centre, scored a game-high 24 points, shooting 10-for-19 from the field and 4-for-6 from the free-throw line. The psychology senior pulled down 10 rebounds, including nine in the defensive zone, and had an assist, a block and three steals -- all in just 26 minutes on the court.

Rookie Charlotte Clayton of Newmarket, Ont., followed with 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench. The 5-foot-8 guard shot 4-for-7 from the field, including 1-for-4 from beyond the three-point arc, and was perfect on two free-throws. She also grabbed one defensive rebound and had two steals.

Senior guard Frederique Potvin of Ste. Julie, Que., also reached double-digits with 10 points. She shot 4-for-14 from the floor including 2-for-7 from the three-point range, grabbed one defensive rebound, stole one ball and added an assist.

Geraldine Cabillo-Abante of St. Laurent, Que., shot 2-for-5 from the field and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe to earn eight points, corralled three rebounds and stole three balls.

Jamie McCarron led the X-Women with 10 points and teammate Chelsea Provo contributed seven points and eight rebounds.

The Martlets had a narrow 31-30 rebounding advantage, a 14-4 margin in steals and a 13-25 difference in turnovers. St. FX had a 2-1 edge in blocks.

McGill shot 40.3 per cent from the field (27/67), 15 per cent from the three-point range (3/20) and 12-for-15 from the stripe (80 per cent). The X-Women shot 35.8 per cent (19/53) from the floor, 0-for-8 from beyond the arc and were 3-for-4 on free throws.

Queen's defeated Toronto 99-95 in double-overtime earlier in the day.

St. FX (0-1 in the tournament) will face the Gaels (1-0) at 3 p.m. at Love Competition Hall on Saturday (Oct. 21). The Martlets (1-0) take on the Varsity Blues (0-1) at 5 p.m. that evening.


22nd ANNUAL McGILL REDBIRD BASKETBALL CLASSIC

WOMEN'S SCHEDULE

Friday, Oct. 20, 2017
Queen's 99, Toronto 95 (2OT)
McGill 69, StFX 41

Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017
3:00 pm StFX vs Queen's
5:00 pm Toronto vs McGill

Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017
10:00 am Toronto vs StFX
2:00 pm Queen's vs McGill