VICTORIA -- Alex Kiss-Rusk of Beaconsfield, Que., earned her second straight "double-double" as fourth-seeded McGill upset No.1 Carleton 66-60 in a hard-fought battle for a berth in the final of the ArcelorMittal Dofasco U SPORTS women's basketball national championship, Saturday.

The Martlets, who halted Carleton's win streak at 22 games, will meet a familiar foe in the championship game at the CARSA Performance Gym when they tip off against Laval -- which defeated Queen's in the other semifinal -- in Sunday's gold medal match which will be broadcast live on Sportsnet 360 at 4 p.m. (Eastern). This marks just the third time in U SPORTS history that two Quebec teams will meet in a national final for any sport -- which previously occurred in 2009 when the Rouge et Or toppled McGill for the men's soccer crown and again in 2015 when McGill and the Montreal Carabins clashed for the women's hockey title. The all-RSEQ match-up also guarantees that a Quebec team will claim the title for the first time since Bishop's won their second of back-to-back titles in 1984.

"It's a great statement for the Quebec conference," said McGill head coach Ryan Thorne, who captained the Gaiters to a national title in 1998, the last men's team to win the hoops crown from the Quebec conference."We've played each other four times in the regular season (with a 2-2 record) and this is the ultimate Game 5. They understand us and we understand them. It's just going to come down to who executes better, who shoots better and who takes greater advantage of their opportunities."

"I'm excited," said Kiss-Rusk of the match-up. "We don't have a lot of time to prepare so it's nice that we know our opponent. We've been playing them all season, we are both going to be well-prepared and it's going to be a battle tomorrow."

Kiss-Rusk, a 6-foot-4 centre who was picked as McGill's Game MVP, scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, including seven in the defensive zone. The psychology senior shot 9-for-18 from the field and was 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. She also had three assists, a pair of blocked shots and a steal.

"She was strong inside, dominant," offered Thorne. "When there was something there for her she took it and when there was not, she kicked it out 9to the perimeter), so that's what was very positive. We got some good open looks, Fred (Potvin) knocked down a couple shots based on that, and that's what we've got to continue to do for at least one more game."

Carleton and McGill went right down to the wire on Saturday night, with the Ravens drawing within two points in the final minute of the fourth quarter. But late free throws from Frederique Potvin helped seal the deal for the underdog Martlets. 
 
"Carleton was able to shut us down in certain areas but then we were able to do the same to them," said Thorne. "Everyone just made sure that they didn't get good clean looks and I think that was important and sealed the deal for us."

"I had a lot of help from my teammates today," Kiss-Rusk added. "We had some great outside shooting. Frederique shot the ball really well, she had some really clutch moments so that definitely opened up things inside."

McGill won the game on their shooting, especially from the foul-line where they shot a scorching 87 per cent after draining 20 of 23 attempts, compared to the Ravens, who were only 12-for-19 from the stripe (63.2 per cent).  McGill shot 40.4 per cent from the field (21/52), including 30.8 per cent from the three-point range (4/13). The Ravens shot 36.7 per cent from the field (22/60), including 26.7 per cent from beyond the arc (4/15).

The Martlets jumped into a 15-10 lead after one but Carleton narrowed the gap to 29-28 on a buzzer-beating trey at halftime and even took a brief one-point lead -- their only lead of the match -- early in the third quarter. McGill regained the advantage, however, thanks to nine points in a two-minute span, from Potvin and never relented down the stretch.

Potvin, a 5-foot-10 guard from Ste. Julie, Que., tallied 16 points and pulled down four rebounds. She shot 5-for-11 from the field, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, and was perfect on three tries from the charity stripe. The social work senior also had four assists.

Teammates Marika Guerin of Sorel, Que., and Jennifer Silver of Montreal followed with eight points each. Guerin, a 5-foot-4 point guard, was 3-for-3 from the line and also nabbed one defensive rebound. Silver, a 5-foot-11 forward, corralled six rebounds and had a trio of assists. Gladys Hakizimana of Montreal knocked down all four of her free throws, gathered three rebounds and had one assist. Geraldine Cabillo-Abante of St. Laurent, Que., also chipped in four points, including 2-for-2 shooting from the line. She brought down one rebound, blocked a shot and stole one ball. Marie-Love Michel of Montreal rounded out the scoring with two points, along with five boards and a steal.

For the Ravens, fourth-year forward Catherine Traer led the way with 16 points, followed by teammates Jenjen Abella and Heather Lindsay with 13 apiece. Abella tied Lindsay and Nicole Gilmore for a team-high five rebounds, earning Carleton's player-of-the-game award.

The Martlets had a 41-32 rebounding advantage while Carleton held a 6-3 margin in steals and a 12-16 difference in turnovers. Both teams blocked a pair of shots.

Carleton head coach Taffe Charles credited McGill for limiting his team to 36.7 per cent shooting from the field.
 
"They did a decent job of taking us out of what we wanted to do," said Charles. "They knew that if they let us catch the ball that they would have a tough time covering people. We had free-throws we didn't make and andones we didn't make and at this level you have to make those and we just didn't. 
 
"It's a tough lesson to learn at this time of year."
 
The Ravens will get a chance to end their tournament on a high note when they take to the court against the Queen's Gaels with a chance to win bronze. That game starts at 10:00 a.m. PT and can be watched live on USPORTS.LIVE. 
 
McGill and Laval will face off for the Bronze Baby at 1:00 p.m. with Sportsnet cameras rolling. Catch the gold medal game on Sportsnet 360 or Sportsnet Now.

Looking ahead to the championship game, McGill's second attempt at gold in three years, Thorne emphasized the need to capitalize on their size advantage over their provincial rivals and to continue the strong shooting they've shown in the tournament.

"Laval's very perimeter-oriented," he explained. "They run, they push the ball, they're aggressive. We' play a little more slow-tempo, inside-out basketball. They don't have really any 'bigs' so we've got to try to take advantage there and create opportunities when we can inside and when they double then find someone out to knock down some shots."

MARTLET MURMURS: Since Taffe Charles' arrival at Carleton in 2007-08, his teams have faced McGill 13 times in that span, with the Ravens owning a 9-4 record overall. Carleton has won three of the past five encounters, including a  51-46 preseason victory over the Martlets at the Ravens' Nest last October. The two sides have played very competitive fixtures over the years, with 12 of the 13 matchups being decided by 10 points or less.
 
STAT LEADERS
 
Official Boxscore: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wbkb/2017/championship 
 
CAR: 10-18-16-16: 60
MCG: 15-14-20-17: 66
 
Carleton Ravens
Points: Catherina Traer (16), Jenjen Abella (13), Heather Lindsay (13)
Rebounds: Jenjen Abella (5), Heather Lindsay (5), Nicole Gilmore (5) 
Assists: Jenjen Abella (4)
 
Player of the game: Jenjen Abella
 
McGill Martlets
Points: Alex Kiss-Rusk (24), Frederique Potvin (16), Marika Guerin (8), Jennifer Silver (8) 
Rebounds: Alex Kiss-Rusk (13), Jennifer Silver (6), Marie-Love Michel (5)
Assists: Frederique Potvin (4), Alex Kiss-Rusk (3), Jennifer Silver (3)
 
Player of the game: Alex Kiss-Rusk
 
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times Eastern)
 
Thursday, March 9
Quarter-final 1: No.3 Queen's 60, No. 6 Cape Breton 51
Quarter-final 2: No. 2 Saskatchewan 59, No. 7 Laval 69
Quarter-final 3: No. 4 McGill 72, No. 5 Regina 62
Quarter-final 4: No. 1 Carleton 77, No. 8 Victoria 66
 
Friday, March 10
Consolation 1: Cape Breton 51, Saskatchewan 65
Consolation 2: Regina 78, Victoria 64
 
Saturday, March 11
Semifinal 1: Queen's 67, Laval 78
Semifinal 2: McGill 66, Carleton 60
FIFTH-PLACE: Regina 79, Saskatchewan 76
 
Sunday, March 12
1:00 p.m. Queen's vs. Carleton (USPORTS.LIVE)
4:00 p.m. Laval vs. McGill (Sportsnet 360/SN Now)