REGINA -- Frederique Potvin of Ste. Julie, Que., scored 16 points and was named player of the game as the fourth-seeded McGill University women's basketball team rallied from an eight-point deficit to defeat No.5 McMaster 55-39 in a national quarter-final at the U SPORTS Final Eight women's basketball championship, Thursday, at the University of Regina's Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

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The Martlets (1-0) will meet top-seeded Carleton (1-0) in a semifinal on Saturday at 3 p.m. (Eastern) in a confrontation scheduled to be televised live on Sportsnet. The Ravens advanced after winning their tourney opener 52-42 over Calgary. Carleton, which lost 66-60 to McGill in a national semifinal last year, avenged that with a 55-51 decision in their only meeting of the 2017-18 campaign, a preseason contest in Montreal on Oct. 29.

McMaster led 13-11 after the first quarter and were ahead by as many as eight points before holding a 27-22 edge at halftime but McGill went on a 12-2 run in the third to take the lead for good, hanging onto a 39-33 advantage after the third quarter. Another eight straight points by the Martlets in the fourth quarter – while McMaster went over five minutes without scoring – put McGill in complete control of the contest with a late 14-point lead. The Martlets allowed just 12 points against in a stingy second-half defensive effort.

"I thought we had a slow start today, and we lacked urgency early. It was a really physical game and we didn't match that early but it got better in the second half," McGill head coach Ryan Thorne said. "We need to have that urgency and play the way we did at the end right from the start. There's no pacing yourselves at a national championship – we need to play in the lanes and play defensively from the beginning."
 
Potvin, a 5-foot-10 guard, shot 6-for-15 from the floor, including a 3-for-8 effort from three-point range and sank one of two free-throws. She was also credited with four rebounds, a pair of steals, two blocks and two assists.

Teammate Marie-Love Michel played a game-high 35 minutes and finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. The 5-foor-9 winger shot 5-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line and corralled eight rebounds. She also had one assist and stole three balls.

Gladys Hakizimana of Montreal tallied seven points and two rebounds. She shot 2-for-6 from beyond the arc 1-for-2 from the charity stripe and stole one ball.

Veteran post Alex Kiss-Rusk, in foul trouble early on, was held to just six points in 25 minutes of court-time, while pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds. The 6-foot-4 centre from Beaconsfield, Que., shot 3-for-6 from the field and had a pair of assists along with two blocks.

Arguably the turning point in the game was a pair of clutch treys by Charlotte Clayton, a freshman guard from Newmarket, Ont., who only had six points in the contest. Her first long-distance shot came seconds after entering the game, with 4:38 remaining in the third stanza. It snapped a 29-29 saw-off and gave McGill the lead for good. She added another three-spot in the fourth quarter, with just over six minutes remaining to put McGill in front 44-35 and snuff out any hope for the Marauders.

"Charlotte was nervous early on but knocked down two big threes for us later in the game," noted Thorne. "She was open, in a rhythm and looked comfortable at that point."
 
Linnaea Harper finished with a "double-double" for McMaster, leading the team in both points (10) and rebounds (10). Jelena Mamic and Olivia Watson added nine points apiece, while Hilary Hanaka contributed eight.

McMaster was limited to just 20.7 per cent shooting from the field, finishing 12-for-58 overall.
 
The Martlets had a 41-38 advantage in rebounds and a 5-4 edge in blocks, while McMaster had a 10-9 difference in steals and a favourable 21-18 margin in turnovers forced.

McGill shot 37.3 per cent from the field (19/51), 35.0 from downtown (7/20), and went 10-for-16 from the free-throw line (62.5 per cent). The Marauders shot just 20.7 per cent from the floor (12/58), 18.2 from three-point range (4/22) and 68.8 on free throws (11/16).

McGill has Friday off but McMaster will be back in action that day at 6 p.m. (Eastern) with a consolation round semifinal game against the Dinos.

Players of the Game
McGill: Frédérique Potvin
McMaster: Linnaea Harper

BOXSCORE

U SPORTS FINAL EIGHT TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Thurs., Mar. 8
QUARTER-FINALS:
Carleton 52, Calgary 42
McGill 55, McMaster 39
Regina 76, Laval 56
Saskatchewan 72, Acadia 67

Fri., Mar. 9
CONSOLATION SEMI-FINALS:
Calgary vs McMaster, 7 pm (Eastern)
Acadia vs Laval, 9 pm (Eastern)

Sat., Mar. 10
CONSOLATION FINAL:
TBD vs TBD, 1 pm (Eastern)
SEMIFINALS:
McGill vs Carleton, 4 pm (Eastern) SPORTSNET
Saskatchewan vs Regina, 8 pm (Eastern) SPORTSNET

Sun., Mar. 11
BRONZE MEDAL GAME:
TBD vs TBD, 3:30 pm (Eastern)

GOLD MEDAL GAME:
TBD vs TBD, 6:30 pm (Eastern) SPORTSNET