MONTREAL -- Sophomore Gladys Hakizimana of Montreal scored a team-high 11 points as second-seeded McGill rallied from a nine-point deficit to defeat No.3 UQAM 51-48 in a sudden-death semifinal at the RSEQ Final 4 women's basketball championship, held Thursday at the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau in east-end Montreal. In the earlier semi, No.4 Concordia pulled off a stunning 69-65 upset over top-seeded Laval, the third-ranked team in the nation.

As a result, the Martlets will be gunning for their sixth consecutive Quebec conference crown when they confront Concordia in the tourney final on Saturday (March 4) at 3 p.m. Also at stake is a berth to the U SPORTS Final 8 national championship in Victoria, March 9-11.

It was McGill's third straight win over UQAM after losing the first two meetings this season, improving their head-to-head record to 39-23 in 62 meetings overall.

UQAM jumped into an early 12-9 lead and held a 16-11 advantage after the opening quarter. The Citadins took a 25-22 edge into halfime,but McGill outscored them 15-6 in the third quarter to carry a 37-31 into the final frame, which UQAM won 17-14. The game was really won at the free-throw line, where McGill shot a phenomenal 90.5 per cent (19-for-21), compared to the Citadins were just 12-for-18 (66.7 per cent).

"I don't think our ball movement was great," admitted Ryan Thorne, who collected his 225th career victory in 407 games over his 14 years as bench boss of the Martlets. "We did okay in the third quarter but other than that we were a little stagnant and tried to force things a bit too much. When we got some good, open looks we made the best of them and knocked down a few big shots which helped us turn the corner. They (UQAM) seemed a little tight -- we saw that from the first two teams today and from both teams that played this evening as well -- so it kind of opened up in the second half and we're happy about that."

Hakizimana, a 5-foot-7 guard who was named player of the game for McGill, shot 2-for-9 from the field, including 1-for-2 from the three-point range but was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. She also pulled down two defensive rebounds and had four assists.

"Gladys is a strong guard," Thorne said. "She's only in her second year and can still make some little mistakes but she's a gamer and she'll come through in tight situations. She started up on a roll in the third quarter and then made a couple key passes in the fourth. She's definitely someone that we need and it's great. She got us into overtime in our last game against Laval, so she's just got that game mentality where the moment's never too big for her, she can play through it."

Pittsburgh Panther transfer Frederique Potvin, who hails from Ste. Julie, Que., and senior Jennifer Silver of Montreal followed with nine points apiece. Junior Marie-Love Michel of Montreal added seven points and ripped down 10 rebounds, including a game-high four in the offensive zone.

Senior Alex Kiss-Rusk, the team's leading scorer from Beaconsfield, Que., was held to just eight points but the 6-foot-4 centre corralled seven rebounds

The Citadins were led by Quételine Célestin, who tallied 18 points and collected eight rebounds and Jessica Lubin, who managed a "double-double" in defeat with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

"Lubin (who defended Kiss-Rusk) is a very good player," noted Thorne of the UQAM all-star who was selected player of the game for her side but hobbled off the court in the final minute with an apparent leg injury. "She's tough and physical. The reality about our team is Alex is probably our best player, however we've got a lot of other players who we can play to. They kind of took (Alex) away and we just went in other directions to be successful."

McGill shot just 25.9 per cent from the field (15/58), including a 2-for-10 success rate from three-point range. The Citadins shot 17-for-58 from the field (29.3 per cent), including 18.2 per cent from beyond the arc (2/11). The Martlets had a 47-36 rebounding advantage while UQAM held a 10-4 margin in steals, a 4-3 edge in blocks and turned the ball over 14 times to McGill's 24.

"We've got to be more disciplined if we want to succeed not only past this but beyond Quebec," said Thorne. "We believe too much that we can just do whatever we do and we'll be okay but that's not the reality. We've got to be really disciplined, take care of the basketball and execute. If we can do those things I think we're one of the toughest teams in the country, but if we don't, this is a really tough conference and everyone can beat us here.

"We played the Stingers four times this year (with a 2-2 record) so if we don't do things properly, we could be in trouble," noted Thorne of his upcoming opponent which shocked the nation with their upset over the Rouge et Or. "They forced Laval into 31 turnovers so that's a tough situation. We've just got to be disciplined, understand where the advantages are and play to them."