MONTREAL -- Frederique Potvin tallied 20 points and tournament MVP Alex Kiss-Rusk added 15 as the defending national champion McGill Martlets defeated Queen's 78-57 to capture the Redbird Classic women's basketball tournament at Love Competition Hall on Sunday.

It marked the fifth straight Redbird Classic title for the Martlets, who cruised to a 3-0 sweep with victories against St. FX (69-41), Toronto (78-58), and the Gaels. McGill averaged a lofty 75 points for and a stingy 52 points against across the three games.

"I thought the competition that we were bringing in (to the tournament) was going to give us a good idea of where we are," explained McGill head coach Ryan Thorne who improved to 238-186 in 424 games over his 15 years behind the Martlets bench.. "Even St. FX, who I thought were not as strong, gave us some challenges, and I was really impressed with how well they compete and how hard they fought. I was happy with the teams. I think the score margins probably didn't reflect how tough those games were."

Three Martlets made the all-tourney squad, including Kiss-Rusk, Potvin and forward Marie-Love Michel, a 5-foot-10 senior from Montreal.

Potvin, a 5-foot-10 guard from of Ste. Julie, Que., shot 8-for-17 from the field, including 1-for-3 from the three-point range, and was a perfect 3-for-3 on free throws. She pulled down six rebounds, stole four balls and had one assist.

"Fred was great today," noted Thorne. "Everybody in the country knows now (after Nationals) that she's a talented three-point shooter. Where she's got to develop is to become a more complete player and today we saw more of that. She was aggressive, attacked the basket, shot when open, took little pull-ups and didn't always have to be free (to be effective).

"And she was even a better defender," he added. "On the ball she is, in my opinion, a pretty good defender. It's when she's off the ball that she starts to sometimes have trouble because she's not focused, but today I saw a complete game from her so we were really happy with that."

Kiss-Rusk, a 6-foot-4 centre from Beaconsfield, Que., led all tournament scorers and rebounders with a whopping 59 points and 26 rebounds over the weekend. She added six steals, five assists and four blocks. She shot a stellar 55 per cent from the floor (27-for-49) and drained five of eight free-throws.

"She's a much better leader on the court (this year)and the girls also understand how important it is to go through her," said Thorne of the fifth-year senior, who spent her summer with the Canadian national team. "Definitely there's been a positive effect of her having this experience with Team Canada. I think they've got her thinking more about playing professionally and the things that go into her success and the ability to do that. Definitely her leadership and just her skills and attack have been a lot better."

Charlotte Clayton, a rookie from Newmarket, Ont., was the only other McGill player to reach double-digits in scoring, with 10 points in the game. The 5-foot-8 guard shot 4-for-6 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, and pulled down four defensive rebounds. She also had two steals and a block.

"We've got a great young rookie in Charlotte who's been doing amazing things," said Thorne. "We're really happy with her (progress)."

Michel, a 5-foot-9 winger from Montreal, led all players with a game-high 16 rebounds, including nine in the defensive zone. She shot 3-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line and added an assist and a steal.

"She definitely has to be (a major presence) with the departure of Jen Silver-- she fits right into the role," explained Thorne. "It's a continuation of some of the stuff she was doing last year when Jen was injured for such a long period. That made us comfortable putting her there and (trusting her to) do the right things.

"When she's aggressive, when she's going to the glass to get rebounds and understands her role, we're good. When she tries to be more of a focus or they put her in more of a focus role, then it's not as successful just because she's a smaller 'big'. But she's been doing a great job understanding that, crashing the boards, getting put-backs and finding open teammates -- all the little things that sometimes don't show up on the scoresheet."

The Martlets had a 13-20 turnover advantage and a 10-6 margin in steals. Queen's had a 45-41 edge in turnovers and a 3-1 difference in blocks.
For Queen's, Veronika Lavergne, who was named to the tournament all-star squad, registered a "double-double" in a losing cause. Teammate Marianne Alarie scored 14 points as the Gaels finished the tournament with a 2-1 record.

McGill shot 41 per cent from the field (32/78), including 26.3 per cent from beyond the arc (5/19), and was 9-for-12 on free throws (75 per cent). The Gaels shot 35.9 per cent (23/64) from the floor, 1-for-5 from the three-point range, and were 10-for-17 on free throws (58.8 per cent).

Toronto (1-2) toppled St. FX (0-3) 70-55 earlier in the day.

Abby Dixon (guard, Queen's) and Rahshida Atkinson (guard, Toronto) rounded out the all-tournament selections.

McGill, which improved to 7-1 in preseason play, have two non-conference games left before the regular season begins on Nov. 4. They return to the court for home games against Ottawa and Carleton, Oct. 28-29 at Love Competition Hall. Both contests are slated for a 2 p.m. tipoff.

"The way we set up our exhibition schedule this year, it was going to be pretty challenging," noted Thorne of a preseason campaign that includes top programs such as Regina, Queen's and Carleton. "We made sure we had teams that were at Nationals last year and teams that we expected to be pretty strong. Then we open our season against Laval. (It's a lot of) Top-10 squads to start, so it really gives us an understanding of where we are."

The Gaels begin their OUA season against Lakehead on Oct. 27.
 
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
Queen's 74, StFX 57
McGill 78, Toronto 58

Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017
Toronto 70, StFX 55
McGill 78, Queen's 57

========================================
McGill Redbird Classic All-Tournament Team
========================================
McGill: Alex Kiss-Rusk, Post (TOURNEY MVP)
McGill: Frederique Potvin, Wing
McGill: Marie-Love Michel, Forward
Toronto: Rahshida Atkinson, Guard
Queen's: Abby Dixon, Guard
Queen's: Veronika Lavergne, Post


TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS:
McGill Martlets (3-0)

 

2017 McGILL REDBIRD CLASSIC TOURNAMENT WOMEN'S STANDINGS (final):
TEAM	W	L	PF	PA	DIFF	PCT	PTS
McGill	3	0	225	156	+69	1.000	6
Queen's	2	1	230	230	0	0.667	4
Toronto	1	2	223	232	-9	0.333	2
St.FX	0	3	153	213	-60	0.000	0