MONTREAL -- Alex Kiss-Rusk of Beaconsfield, Que., spent her first day as queen of the Quebec university women's basketball league by registering a "double-double" as seventh-ranked McGill toppled Bishop's 72-50 to win an RSEQ semifinal at Love Competition Hall, Wednesday. The Martlets move on to face No.5 Laval in the league championship game at Quebec City on Saturday (March 3) at 3 p.m., with a berth at the U SPORTS Final Eight national championship in Regina on the line. The Rouge et Or defeated UQAM 66-56 in Wednesday's other Quebec league semifinal.

"It's an amazing feeling (to win in the playoffs), the girls played hard, they really went after it today," said McGill head coach Ryan Thorne. "They knew that this is a tough Bishop's team -- Coach Craig Norman has done a terrific job with them -- and we took them seriously. We were focussed and I think that you saw the result of that."

McGill led 20-11 after the first quarter, 41-21 at halftime and 59-33 after three. The Gaiters won the final stanza 17-13.

Kiss-Rusk, a fifth-year senior who has now tallied 19 double-doubles in 27 games overall, was named earlier in the day as player of the year in the RSEQ conference. She tallied 15 points and pulled down as many rebounds, including 11 in the defensive zone.  The 6-foot-4 centre shot 6-for-15 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line, to go along with three blocked shots, a pair of assists and a steal.

"The difference is Alex can play inside or step out and knock down some jumpers," noted Thorne. "She did that early in the first half and when she starts to hit (both inside and outside) and she stretches the defence like that and Mara Marchizotti (her 6-foot-4 counterpart on the Gaiters) has to come out and that allows more drive lanes for our guards.

"She's a great leader, on both ends she's solid, offensively and defensively. Alex is a legacy player, both of her parents played at McGill and hopefully, if she has some kids one day, they will also play for McGill. To have a player like that is great and it's going to be tough to see her (graduate). She's helped our program get to another level. We're recognized nationally because of her and the work she has done with the Canada Basketball program."

Frederique Potvin of Ste. Julie, Que., followed with 13 points. The 5-foot-10 guard shot 5-for-13 from the field, including 1-for-3 from beyond the arc, and was perfect on two free-throws. She also grabbed a trio of rebounds and had three assists and a block. Geraldine Cabillo-Abante, a 5-foot-5 guard from St. Laurent, Que., scored eight points and corralled three rebounds. She added three assists and a steal.

The Gaiters were led by Edith Noblecilla, who recorded a game-high 21 points.

McGill had a 40-29 rebounding margin, a 4-2 edge in blocks, an 8-6 difference steals and a 17-12 advantage in turnovers forced.

The Martlets shot 42.2 per cent per cent from the field (27/64), went 2-for-10 from beyond the arc, and connected on 76.2 per cent of their free-throws (16-for-21). Bishop's shot 33.9 per cent from the field (21/62), posted a 5-for-10 success rate from downtown and was 3-for-10 from the charity stripe.