MONTREAL – Rookie Lily Rose Chatila hit a trey with 3.7 seconds left to force overtime and finished with a game-high 13 points as McGill rallied from a 16-point deficit to defeat visiting Manitoba 69-64 in a women's basketball exhibition game at Love Competition Hall, Saturday.
 
It was the team's largest come-from-behind victory since Dec. 31, 2011 when the Martlets erased a 17-point deficit en route to a 74-69 decision over Thompson Rivers University. The result also avenged McGill's 67-53 loss to Manitoba in their last meeting, on Oct. 2, 2022, at the UNB Helen Campbell Memorial Tournament in Fredericton.

The Martlets, who improved to 8-5 overall, were playing for the first time in nearly six weeks, dating back to a 61-52 win over UQAM on Nov. 25. For Manitoba, which last played on Dec. 2, this marked the eighth straight setback as the team dropped to 8-12.

"We fell behind early but didn't put our heads down and competed hard for this win," said McGill head coach Rikki Bowles. "Sometimes you need a bit of luck with a buzzer-beater and that's what happened. It was nice to see our growth and development compared to how we played against Manitoba last year. What I was really happy with was... we've been focusing recently on getting... paint touches, post touches and getting to the free-throw line, which we struggled with in the first semester. Also, our rebounding was pretty good today."

The Martlets, who had a 44-37 edge in rebounds, shot 18-for-29 from the free-throw line, compared to Manitoba, which went 6-for-11.

The Bisons jumped into a commanding 20-4 lead with 3:05 remaining in the opening quarter. They held a 22-11 edge after the first, a 36-28 advantage at halftime and extended that to 48-36 after three quarters. But McGill shook off the rust in the fourth stanza, outscoring the Bisons 22-10 to force an extra five-minute session, which the Martlets won by an 11-6 margin.

Trailing 58-55 in the dying seconds of regulation time, Chatila, a 5-foot-7 guard, hit a 25-foot trey to force overtime. The 20-year-old science freshman from Quebec City played a game-high 34 minutes. She shot 5-for-15 from the field, including a 3-for-7 performance from downtown. Chatila also contributed eight rebounds, six assists and was credited with one steal.

"Initially that (buzzer-beater) play was (in-boarded) from the sideline but our two shooters weren't open, so the ball just came to Chatila for the big shot," said Bowles. "She practices those shots every day, buzzer-beater type plays and shots from half-court. She just saw an opportunity from really far out, had an (uncontested) shot, knocked it down and I'm really happy for her."

Teammates Emma-Jane Scotten of Ottawa, and Montrealer Seyna Diggs added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Martlets. Diggs, a 6-foot-1 freshman forward, also pulled down 11 rebounds for the double-double.

In the overtime session, Katerina Stoupas of Montreal came off the bench to lead McGill with a pair of layups. Katie Rathwell of North Battletord, Sask., added a triple, while Chatila and Scotten each tallied one basket.

Pacing the Bisons was a pair of Winnipeg natives, Emerson Martin and Emily Johnson with 13 and 10, respectively.

McGill shot 32.4 per cent from the floor (22/68), including a 7-for-23 effort from long distance. The Bisons connected on 38 per cent of their shots (22/71), with a 4-for-18 performance from the arc.

Manitoba returns to the court on Jan. 5 when it is scheduled to play a Canada West conference game at Regina. McGill resumes regular season play on Jan. 11, when the Martlets (3-3) travel across town to confront Concordia (4-2) at the John Dore Court.
 
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
McGill Athletics & Recreation
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
(514) 983-7012 (cell)