MONTREAL – Lily Rose Chatila of Quebec City, registered a double-double with a game-high 17 points and a conference record 10 steals but it was insufficient as the McGill women's basketball team dropped a wild 66-64 decision to last-place UQAM at Terrain Olga Hrycak, Thursday,
 
McGill tallied a school record 15 steals, compared to just six by UQAM, which had a 39-31 edge in rebounds.
 
Fredlaine Verrier paced UQAM with a double-double of her own, scoring 14 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. The Citadins were dressed in pink uniforms as part of the national Shot for the Cure fundraiser for breast cancer.
 
The result was the third consecutive setback for the Martlets since their four-game win streak ended a week ago. McGill (5-6), which sits third in the five-team RSEQ conference, is nestled two points behind second-place Bishop's (6-5) and two points ahead of Concordia (4-6). It was the first victory of the season UQAM, which improved to 1-8.
 
It was a tale of two halves, with the host Citadins taking a stunning 43-21 lead into halftime only to see McGill rally by winning the second half 43-23. The Martlets almost pulled off a miracle comeback, going on a furious 8-1 run in the final minute, only to be snuffed out when Chatila couldn't corral a long bomb pass which went off her outstretched hands and out of bounds for a turnover with three seconds remaining.
 
Chatila, a 20-year-old anatomical science freshman, broke a 16-year-old RSEQ record of nine steals set by Laval's Chantale Vachon-Marceau against Bishop's on Jan. 19, 2008. The 5-foot-7 guard added four rebounds with three assists and shot a pristine 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. She was one of four McGill players in double digit scoring along with Daniella Mbengo (11), Charlotte Jolin (11) and Seyna Diggs (10).
 
McGill shot a spectacular 17-for-20 from the charity stripe, compared to UQAM's 9-for-18 effort.
 
But the Citadins more than made up for that by shooting 41.4 per cent from the floor (24/58), including a 9-for-24 effort from beyond the arc. The Martlets countered with a tepid 30.8 per cent success rate from the field (20/65). They made seven of 32 treys.
 
McGill, which has five games remaining before playoffs, will look for revenge against UQAM when the cross-town rivals reunite on Saturday (Jan. 27) in a 2 p.m. tip-off at Love Competition Hall.
 
BOXSCORE
 
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
 
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca