QUEBEC CITY -- Senior Gladys Hakizimana scored 22 and veteran Sirah Diarra pulled down 25 rebounds -- both season highs -- but it was insufficient as a valiant effort by fourth-seeded McGill fell short. Division-leading Laval held on for a 55-51 semifinal victory, Wednesday, in a sudden-death RSEQ women's basketball semifinal before close to 1,000 fans at Centre PEPS.

The result halted Laval's five-game losing streak to McGill in post-season play and was their first playoff win over McGill since 2011. It was also head coach Guillaume Giroux's first win in three attempts against his former team, where he served as an assistant coach to McGill bench boss Ryan Thorne.

The Rouge et Or advance to the league championship game, where they will host third-seeded UQAM, which upset second-place Bishop's 61-48 in the other semi.

The game featured six lead changes and McGill had a 44-34 rebounding advantage. Laval led 15-10 after the opening quarter and benefited with a buzzer-beating trey from Frederique Beauchamp to take a 28-25 advantage into the intermission. McGill won the third quarter 12-8 to take a slim 37-36 lead into the final stanza.

A trey by Hakizimana with 5:16 remaining in the contest reduced the deficit to 45-44 and it looked like an upset was in the works. But Laval went on a 10-7 run to close out the contest.

Hakizimana, a fifth-year veteran who played 29 minutes, added one rebound and one assist. The 5-foot-7 social work major shot 6-for-13 from the floor, including a 3-for-9 effort from beyond the arc. She was a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul-line.

Diarra, who added seven points, became the first member of the Martlets in decades to tach the 25-rebound plateau. 

Three members of the Rouge et Or reached double digits in scoring, led by Khaleann Caron-Goudreau, who registered a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Carrie-Ann Auger and the aforementioned Beauchamp, added 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Laval shot 33.3 per cent from the floor (21/63), went 7-for-22 from downtown and dropped 6-of-9 attempts from the line. McGill countered by shooting only 28.6 per cent (16/56). they were only 5-for-21 from distance but stayed in the game with a season-best 93.3 per cent success rate from the line (14/15).

McGill, which dropped their lifetime record against Laval to 68-66-1, started their centennial season with promise. But they had a rough first semester and finished at 11-16 overall, including a 7-9 fourth-place finish in the five-team Quebec conference. It was their lowest win total in a decade, since going 7-9 in 2009-10.

The was the last game for five graduating seniors, a group that included Ruth Tshikudi-Tshila, GG Cabillo-Abante, Gladys Hakizimana, Sirah Diarra and Stephanie Mondou.

BOXSCORE