REGINA -- Catherine Traer scored a last-second buzzer-beater to give No.1 ranked Carleton its first lead of the game, and a stunning 46-44 come-from-behind victory over fourth-seeded McGill, the defending champs who fell in heartbreaking fashion in a national semifinal at the U SPORTS Final 8 women's basketball tournament on Saturday.

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The Ravens, which extended their win streak to 28 league and playoff games, will meet Saskatchewan in Sunday's gold medal game on Sportsnet 360 at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern), while the Martlets will battle host Regina for bronze at 4:30 p.m.

Traer made a miraculous shot with just 1.6 seconds remaining, which came when she banked home an awkward running shot from the free-throw line. Carleton then successfully defended a buzzer-beating attempt by McGill's Frederique Potvin on a mid-court inbound chance for a trey to seal the deal.

"It seems like we've had experience being down all year, even last week in the OUA final, and maybe that helped us out here," said Ravens head coach Taffe Charles. "We had one of our starters hurt, but we showed a ton of resiliency to battle through. Now as we get ready for Sunday, we've got to find some health, get some rest, and cram a lot of planning into one day."

McGill jumped into a surprising 15-5 lead after one quarter, held on to a 26-20 advantage at halftime. McGill got hot from behind the arc in the third quarter, as Geraldine Cabillo-Abante, freshman Charlotte Clayton and Potvin all rained in triples in a two-minute span. A late answer from Jenjen Abella from behind the arc shrunk the deficit to five but last-second free throws from Cabillo-Abante made the score 42-35 after three quarters. But the Martlets self-destructed in the final quarter, which the Ravens won by a hard-to-believe 11-2 margin. .

The No. 1 defensive team in the country flipped the switch in the fourth quarter, holding McGill off the scoreboard until Marie-Love Michel made a pair of free throws with 2:44 remaining. A Leblanc layup with 1:26 to play brought Carleton even, tying the game at 44-44 and setting up the nail-biting finish.

Martlets shot a tepid 23.7 per cent from the floor (14/57) and 26.9 from the three-point range (7/26). Carleton shot 23.1 per cent from the field (12/52) and 14.3 per cent from downtown (2/14).

"We tried everything, went inside and outside but couldn't make a bucket," said a subdued Ryan Thorne, head coach of the Martlets. "We didn't even get a field-goal in the final quarter. We got tight and had players who normally would take shots shying away from those opportunities. We had some decent looks but just didn't make the shots."

Aside from poor shooting performances on both sides, the biggest statistical factor in the game was at the free-throw line, where Carleton made 25 trips and came away with 20 points, compared to the Martlets, who only made nine trips, and drained each attempt.

"That started in the second quarter and all of a sudden, the fouls changed. Every quarter, they were shooting in bonus before we even had a foul shot. It was tough (to stomach). But despite that, we gave up two easy baskets in the last two minutes and that was the difference in my opinion. Even tough were weren't scoring, neither were they, and then we gave up a basket to (Elizabeth) Leblanc because we fell asleep. Then they hung a runner off the backboard with two seconds left to tie the score."

Martlets guard Geraldine Cabillo-Abante of St. Laurent, Que., tallied a game-high 16 points and was named player of the game for McGill. The 5-foot-5 junior shot 5-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, and was perfect on two free throws. She also grabbed one defensive rebound and blocked a shot.

Alex Kiss-Rusk of Beaconsfield, Que., was in foul trouble for the second straight outing and was limited to nine points, with a game-leading 13 rebounds. The 6-foot-4 centre shot 4-for-11 from the field and had four assists, one block and a steal. She was held scoreless through the second half.

Marie-Love Michel of Montreal also had a strong game on the glass, pulling down 10 rebounds. The 5-foot-9 winger added six points, a pair of steals and an assist.

Elizabeth Leblanc led Carleton with 13 points, while Heather Lindsay and Traer each earned 10.

McGill had a 43-39 rebounding advantage and an 11-10 edge in steals. The Ravens had a favourable 23-15 margin in turnovers allowed, while both teams managed three blocks.

The Martlets will now go for bronze against the host Regina squad that also lost a heart-breaker in the final minute. Tied at 68-68, Saskatchewan nailed a pair of treys in the dying seconds to come away with a 74-71 decision.

Boxscore

Players of the Game
Carleton: Catherine Traer 
McGill: Geraldine Cabillo-Abante