MONTREAL --
Frederique Potvin scored 17 points,
Gladys Hakizimana added 16 and
Alex Kiss-Rusk became the school's all-time leading rebounder as sixth-ranked McGill defeated Bishop's 70-46 in RSEQ women's basketball at Love Competition Hall on Saturday. The victory, combined with Bishop's 59-58 upset over Laval on Friday, moved McGill (10-4) back into sole possession of first place in the Quebec league standings, two points ahead of Laval (9-4), which holds a game in hand.
The Martlets jumped to a 16-6 lead after the first quarter and improved to 40-22 at halftime. They led 52-37 after the third quarter and posted an 18-9 final frame en route to capturing the season series with the Gaiters at 3-1.
McGill had a 29-26 margin in rebounds, a 2-1 edge in blocks, a 5-4 difference in steals and a 10-12 advantage in turnovers.
Potvin, a 5-foot-10 guard, shot 6-for-8 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 mark from beyond the arc, and sank both her free-throws. She pulled down six defensive rebounds and had two assists, a block and a steal.
Hakizimana, a 5-foot-7 guard from Montreal, shot 6-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-6 from three-point range, and drained one of two free-throws. She grabbed four rebounds, stole one ball and had an assist.
Alex Kiss-Rusk of Beaconsfield, Que., tallied a dozen points and corralled nine rebounds, to become McGill's all-time leading rebounder with 495 in 62 contests, two more boards than Vicky Tessier, who played in 63 regular season games from 1992 to 1997. Kiss-Rusk missed collecting a "double-double" for only the fourth time in 14 regular season games. The fifth-year social work senior shot 6-for-15 from the floor and had a game-high four assists.
The Gaiters were led by
Maude Archambault, who recorded 13 points, and
Edith Noblecilla, who had 10.
The Martlets shot 42.4 per cent from the field (25/59), including a stellar 47.1 per cent from downtown (8/17), and were 12-for-16 from the charity stripe. Bishop's shot 32.8 per cent from the field (19/58), including a 6-for-18 success rate from beyond the arc, and was just 2-for-8 on free throws.
With two games remaining on their schedule, McGill (10-4) visits Laval (9-4) on Thursday, Feb. 22 in a game that should decide first place. The Rouge et Or have won two of the three season meetings and have outscored McGill in those games by 12 points in the all-important tie-breaker. So McGill would have to beat Laval by more than a dozen to regain the upper-hand in the race for the regular season pennant.
The Gaiters (7-8) host Concordia (4-10) on Feb. 23.
| 2017-18 RSEQ Women's Basketball Standings • Classement de la saison régulière de la RSEQ |
|
|
| 1 |
McGill |
14 |
10 |
4 |
893 |
779 |
0.714 |
-0.5 |
20 |
| 2 |
Laval |
13 |
9 |
4 |
811 |
745 |
0.692 |
0.0 |
18 |
| 3 |
Bishop's |
15 |
7 |
8 |
942 |
986 |
0.467 |
3.0 |
14 |
| 4 |
UQAM |
14 |
5 |
9 |
873 |
890 |
0.357 |
4.5 |
10 |
| 5 |
Concordia |
14 |
4 |
10 |
862 |
981 |
0.286 |
5.5 |
8 |
