MONTREAL – Sophomore Lily Rose Chatila of Quebec City, scored a game-high 20 points as the McGill Martlets powered their way to a 75-50 victory over the University of Northern British Columbia Thunderwolves to open the McGill Basketball Classic Tournament at Love Competition hall, Friday.
 
The result marked the second consecutive time that the Martlets had reached the 75-point plateau, following in the wake of a 75-70 in overtime win over UNB at the Ottawa Invitational preseason tourney on Oct. 11. These back-to-back results were the highest offensive outputs for the Martlets in 31 games, dating back to a 77-50 decision over Concordia on Feb. 9, 2023.
 
McGill improved to 2-0 lifetime against UNBC, including a 64-55 matchup in their only previous meeting on Oct. 11, 2019, also at home.
 
The Martlets, who dominated the boards with a lopsided 49-29 margin in rebounding, won all four quarters, leading 14-12 after the opening stanza, 35-21 at halftime and 54-35 after three. They took the final frame 21-15.
 
"I was happy with our start," said McGill head coach Rikki Bowles. "It was our first home game in a long seven months and we came out excited and with high energy."

Chatila, a 5-foot-7 point-guard, shot 8-for-16 from the floor, including a 3-for-10 effort from three-point range. The 21-year-old anatomy and cellular biology major went 1-for-1 from the line and was credited with five rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes of court time.

"Lily played really well in taking on the point-guard role but early on, she was looking to score as well, so that makes her more of a threat," said Bowles. "She can make the passes and has the ability to score. Her quickness is (beneficial) and if teams take that away (defensively), she can find open players and move the ball. So it's about her mindset to be aggressive this season. Now that she is in her second year, she kind of knows the lay of the land and that really opens things up for everybody else."
 
Aicha Hassan-Omar, a sophomore guard from Gatineau, Que., came of the bench to contribute 15 points for the Martlets, going 5-for-6 from long distance.

"She worked hard over the summer and played with confidence today," said Bowles. "Her teammates found her and she shot the ball with (authority). They were all excited when she made those long shots. It's fun to see the progression and development from one year to the next."

Sophomore Seyna Diggs of Montreal, and Charlotte Jolin, a a second-year point-guard from Quebec City, added nine points apiece for the victors.
 
Pacing the visitors was Viktoria Filatova with 13 points off the bench.
 
McGill, which improved to 3-2 overall, will host the Laurentian Voyageurs (1-6) from Sudbury, Ont., on Saturday at 5 p.m., before closing out the tourney on Sunday at 2 pm against St. Francis Xavier.
 
BOXSCORE

 
2024 McGILL BASKETBALL CLASSIC TOURNAMENT
 
 
WOMEN'S SCHEDULE
 
Oct. 18
2 pm StFX 67, Laurentian 48
(GAME MVPs: StFX: Ekaterina Karchevskaya & LRTN: Emilie Lafond)

McGill 75, UNBC 50
(GAME MVPs: McG: Lily Rose Chatila & UNBC: Sveta Boykova)
 
Oct. 19
StFX 80, UNBC 75
(GAME MVPs: StFX: Shannon Neita & UNBC: Viktoria Filatova)

McGill 51, Laurentian 42
(GAME MVPs: McG: Erica Simeone & LRTN: Cadence Pecore)

Oct. 20
10 am Laurentian vs UNBC
2 pm StFX vs McGill

===============================================================
 
MEN'S SCHEDULE
 
Oct. 17
UPEI 82, McGill 76
(GAME MVPs: UPEI: Kyree Thompson & McG: Georges Lefebvre)
 
Oct. 18
UPEI 105,  Laurentian 88
(GAME MVPs: UPEI: Kamari Scott & LRTN: Philippe Fandio)

Macalester 95, McGill 89
(GAME MVPs: MAC: Kaden Holdbrook & McG: Alexis Messier)

Oct. 19
UPEI 95, Macalester 92
(GAME MVPs: UPEI: Sam Chisholm & MAC: Noah Shannon)

7 pm Laurentian vs McGill
 
Oct. 20
12 pm Laurentian vs Macalester
 
 

SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca