MONTREAL --
Jane Gagné of Quebec City scored a game-high 20 points as No.1 ranked Laval defeated McGill 65-47 in women's basketball at Love Competition Hall, Thursday, improving their unblemished record to 11-0 atop the RSEQ standings.
The result marked the Rouge et Or's second consecutive win over McGill, including a similar 65-46 victory on Nov. 10, 2018. Laval is now 6-4 in the last 10 confrontations after snapping a 23-game losing streak to McGill on Nov. 10, 2016. The Martlets own a lifetime mark of 66-61-1 against Laval.
"That's the best team in the country, their effort is outstanding and they are very talented," said Martlets head coach
Ryan Thorne. "You're not going to out-talent that team so you've got to try to outwork them and we (flinched) when they fought us."
The Rouge et Or took a 20-9 lead after the first quarter, extended that to a lopsided 42-18 margin at halftime before the Martlets battled back to win the second half 29-23.
"Halfway through the third quarter we shortened our bench to the people who were giving effort. We took some people out who we thought weren't fighting," added a disappointed Thorne. "The girls who went in there, I was very proud of their battle through the third and to the end of the game."
The Rouge et Or had a 33-30 edge in rebounds and a 7-0 margin in blocks. Both sides committed 19 turnovers. McGill's bench had a 25-9 edge over the visitors scrubs.
Laval guard
Sarah-Jane Marois posted 12 points, primarily on a 8-for-9 effort from the free-throw line. Teammate
Claudia Emond added 11 points.
Leading the way for the Martlets was freshman
Shayann Laguerre, a six-foot forward from Laval, Que., who came off the bench to score 14 points in 29 minutes of court time. She shot 6-for-10 from the floor and contributed four rebounds with a steal. Starter
Trishia Villedrouin of Montreal, added 11 points, four rebounds, a pair of steals and an assist.
Sirah Diarra, McGill's 6-foot-1 starting centre, was held to a season-low two points and had just eight rebounds, six below her per game average.
The Martlets shot a season low of 28.6 per cent from the field (18/63), making just four of 23 attempts from downtown (17.4%) and were 7-for-14 from the line. Laval shot 39.7 from the floor (23/58), including a 7-for-22 mark from beyond the arc, and went 12-for-18 on free-throws.
McGill (6-4) travels to Quebec City on Saturday (Feb. 2) for a re-match with Laval (10-0), who could clinch first-place in the RSEQ conference with a victory. The opening tip-off is slated for 6 p.m at Centre PEPS and will be streamed live in French at the
Laval YouTube site.
MARTLET MURMURS:
Marc Gélinas, executive director of athletics at McGill, addressed the crowd at halftime about the Bell Let's talk campaign and emphasized that mental health should be discussed as a daily issue and not just a once-a-year topic... Junior
Ruth Tshikudi-Tshila, a six-foot starting forward, missed her ninth consecutive game after suffering a knee injury in the season opening 57-56 win over UQAM on Nov. 8, has received a brace and expected date of return to action is still up in the air.
2018-19 RSEQ Women's Basketball Standings (updated)
| 1 |
Laval |
10 |
10 |
0 |
737 |
533 |
1.000 |
0.0 |
20 |
| 2 |
Concordia |
12 |
7 |
5 |
774 |
737 |
0.583 |
4.0 |
14 |
| 3 |
McGill |
10 |
6 |
4 |
565 |
566 |
0.600 |
4.0 |
12 |
| 4 |
UQAM |
10 |
2 |
8 |
625 |
715 |
0.200 |
8.0 |
4 |
| 5 |
Bishop's |
12 |
2 |
10 |
666 |
816 |
0.167 |
9.0 |
4 |
