MONTREAL -- Veterans Marie-Love Michel of Montreal scored 15 points and Alex Kiss-Rusk of Beaconsfield, Que., registered a "reverse double-double" as sixth-ranked McGill rallied from an 11-point deficit to defeat UQAM 59-51 and wrap up the regular season of RSEQ women's basketball, Saturday, at Love Competition Hall.

The Martlets, who paid tribute to four graduating veterans in an emotional post-game ceremony, bounced back from a 35-28 halftime deficit to celebrate "Senior Day" with a victory and improved their record to 43-23 in 66 head-to-head meetings with the Citadins.

"It was a lack of commitment to the details early, and then we found ourselves in trouble and realized 'Oh yeah, we've really got to do this'," said McGill head coach Ryan Thorne of the momentum shift. "You can see by the stats, our second half offensively -- we shot 56 per cent from the field in the fourth quarter (9/16) -- we attacked and got some really good things done. In all honestly, part of it is also us wearing on teams. If we keep doing the (little) things and working hard then we'll get some success in the end, and that's what happened."

All three of the team's seniors who dressed, reached double-digits in scoring.

Michel, a physical education senior, shot 7-for-10 from the field and drained her only free-throw. She also pulled down four rebounds, had one assist and stole one ball in just 20 minutes on the court.

Kiss-Rusk, a senior who graduated in psychology last year but returned for another degree, in social work, tallied a dozen points and corralled a game-high 15 rebounds, including 11 in the defensive zone, for her 11th double-double in 16 league games this year. She shot 6-for-15 from the field, had four assists, one block and a steal.

Frederique Potvin, a second-year social work major who transfered after three seasons with the University of Pittsburgh, recorded 11 points and nabbed six rebounds. The native of Ste. Julie, Que., shot 2-for-11 from beyond the arc, was 5-for-6 on free-throws and was credited with four assists and a pair of steals.

"That's a strong group -- it's three of the starting five," said Thorne of his graduating players. "More than anything, it's experience and know-how. It's belief in our system and what we do. Sometimes I can make a quick change (in tactics) with that group out there because they know what I want without having to sit down and draw it out (on a white board). That's going to change next year, because we're going to bring in some freshmen. The seniors have left the program in a better place than they found it and I thank them all for that.

"Fred Potvin's a great addition that we had out of the NCAA," he added. "Alex, that's legacy -- we're happy that she's a part of it. And Marie-Love Michel, she's just a great individual who's even-keeled and does everything she has to every time out."

The team also honoured Carissa Tapia, who was on the roster for three seasons and played in two of them before having her career cut short due to multiple knee injuries. Tapia spent the past year as the program's director of basketball operations.

Each honouree received a bouquet of flowers.

Jessica Lubin led UQAM with 17 points, followed by Inga Aleksaite with 15.

The Martlets had a 40-28 rebounding advantage, a 1-0 edge in blocks, an 8-5 margin in steals and a favourable 18-16 difference in turnovers.

McGill shot 37.9 per cent per cent from the field (26/66), 15.8 from three-point range (3/19) and was 6-for-9 on free throws. The Citadins shot 35.2 from the field (19/54) despite a 0-for-9 success rate from downtown. They were 13-for-18 from the charity stripe (72.2 per cent).

The second-seeded Martlets (11-5) now face third-place Bishop's (8-8) in the single-elimination RSEQ semifinal on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. at Love Competition Hall. The game will be followed at 8 p.m. by the men's semifinal between the same schools.

"We just bounced back from a tough loss down in Quebec City (against Laval on Thursday) and it's really important for us to feel confident going into the playoffs," Thorne noted. "A loss (today) might have brought us down a bit, but I think the confidence is there now. The girls believe. They've played all these teams. So we're just back to where we think we should be and that will carry us forward. We've got a couple days before we play Bishop's at home. If we can find a way to get the atmosphere, get the crowd out supporting us, that would be a great feeling."

UQAM (5-11) battles top-seed Laval (11-4) that same evening. The winners will meet in the Quebec league final on March 3.

MARTLET MURMURS: Among the plethora of former Martlets spotted in the crowd for the Seniors Day festivities was Dianna Ros, Jen Silver, Annette Kiss, Annabelle Ambroise, Valerie L'Ecuyer, Anneth Him-Lazarenko, Rikki Bowles, Caroline Hebert and Catherine Parent.