LENNOXVILLE, Que. --
Alex Kiss-Rusk of Beaconsfield, Que., registered a "double-double" as second-ranked McGill defeated Bishop's 74-51 to close the first semester of RSEQ women's basketball before close to 500 fans at the Mitchell Gymnasium, Saturday.
The Martlets jumped to a 15-7 lead after the opening quarter, had a 34-26 margin at halftime and took a 53-35 advantage into the final frame. McGill had a 46-40 rebounding advantage, a 6-2 margin in steals and a 9-14 difference in turnovers. The Gaiters doubled their guests 4-2 in blocks.
Kiss-Rusk, a 6-foot-4 centre, scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed a dozen rebounds. The fifth-year senior, now studying social work after graduating with a degree in psychology last spring, shot 8-for-14 from the field and was also credited with an assist and one block.
"I thought the girls played well, we were prepared," said
Ryan Thorne, who improved his career record behind the McGill bench to 242-188 in 430 games overall. "They shared the ball well and when we get Alex rolling, we play good inside-out basketball, everyone benefits from that, so that was really special about the way we played today."
Kiss-Rusk was one of four Martlet starters who reached double-figures in scoring.
Gladys Hakizimana of Montreal added 15 points, four assists, a pair of steals and one rebound. The 5-foot-7 junior guard shot 7-for-14 from the field, including 1-for-5 from three-point range.
"Gladys got us off to a good start by being aggressive, attacking and we flowed pretty much from there," added Thorne. "Defensively we did some pretty good things and keyed in on limiting their best players to some tough shots."
Seniors
Frederique Potvin of Ste. Julie, Que., and Montrealer
Marie-Love Michel rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points apiece.
Potvin, a 5-foot-10 guard, shot 3-for-14 from the field, including a 1-for-7 mark from beyond the arc, and was perfect on her six free-throw attempts. She also pulled down eight rebounds and had four assists, one block and a steal. Michel, a 5-foot-9 wing, shot 5-for-12 from the floor and sank half her six free-throws. She also corralled seven rebounds, stole one ball and had three assists.
Edith Noblecilla and
Ashley Milhomme led the Gaiters with 12 points each.
The Martlets shot 41.4 per cent from the field (29/70), despite a meagre 2-for-17 success rate from downtown and were 14-for-17 on free throws. Bishop's shot 19.5 per cent from the field (18/61), went 3-for-22 from three-point range, and was 12-for-18 from the charity stripe.
The Gaiters (2-2) will host Laval (2-2) on Dec. 1, while McGill (3-1) resumes their season next semester with a home-and-home against the winless Citadins (0-4), at UQAM on Jan. 4, then back at Love Competition Hall on Jan. 6.
LINK TO BOXSCORE
| 2017-18 RSEQ Women's Basketball Standings • Classement de la saison régulière |
|
|
| 1 |
McGill |
4 |
3 |
1 |
284 |
227 |
0.750 |
0.0 |
6 |
| 2 |
Concordia |
4 |
3 |
1 |
276 |
268 |
0.750 |
0.0 |
6 |
| 3 |
Bishop's |
4 |
2 |
2 |
263 |
288 |
0.500 |
1.0 |
4 |
| 4 |
Laval |
4 |
2 |
2 |
241 |
225 |
0.500 |
1.0 |
4 |
| 5 |
UQAM |
4 |
0 |
4 |
225 |
281 |
0.000 |
3.0 |
0 |
