MONTREAL – Lily Rose Chatila tallied a game-high 21 points and was one of five Martlets to reach double-digits as McGill overwhelmed the UQAM Citadins 102-45 in a record-breaking women's basketball victory at Love Competition Hall, Saturday.

The 102 points marked the team's highest offensive output ever in a regular season game eclipsing McGill's previous school record set in a 101-12 decision over Sir George Williams University (now known as Concordia) on Jan. 16, 1974. Including exhibition play, it ranks as the team's third-best outing behind a 118-40 win over Queen's (Oct. 16/81) and a 109-59 decision over the NCAA's Lee College (Jan. 7/96).
 
The Martlets, who improved to 55-35 lifetime against UQAM, scored 20+ points in each stanza. McGill erased an early 9-2 deficit with a 21-5 run to take a 23-14 lead after  the first quarter, then dominated the second 29-12, the third 23-5 and the final quarter 27-14.
 
"We responded well after a slow start and then got into a groove and it was very positive after that," said McGill head coach Rikki Bowles. "It was a really nice team effort."
 
Chatila, a 5-foot-7 guard from Quebec City, shot 8-for-13 from the field, 3-for-5 from long-distance and 2-for-2 from the foul-line. The 21-year-old science sophomore also contributed four rebounds, four steals, three assists and one block in 25 minutes of court time.
 
"Lily was efficient across the board, with a few rebounds, some assists, a number of steals and only one turnover," Bowles said. "She shot well and has just been incredibly solid for us throughout the first half of the season, a mainstay in each game. She's really controlled the pace and is starting to understand when to push in transition and when to set up the offence. She was great today… On a day when it goes as well as it did, there's a lot of players who did well and did really great things."
 
Emma-Jane Scotten added 17, on the strength of a stunning 5-for-5 effort from trey territory. Kristy Awikeh added 13 points, along with Daniella Mbengo (12) and Katerina Stoupas, who quietly registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
UQAM was led by Elisabeth Duchemin with 13 points.
 
McGill shot a sizzling 53.5 percent from the field (38/71), with a superb 11-for-24 effort from downtown. The 11 treys were the most by the team in five years, dating back to Nov. 28, 2019, when they had 11 in a 61-60 win over Laval.
 
"Playing in transition allowed a lot of those threes to happen with some time and space and that makes you a better shooter," added Bowles. "What we did really well today was share the ball – we had 24 assists which might be close to a school record – whether it was inside because that area was open or a kick-out to someone who was open for a three."
 
In fact, the 24 dimes were just two shy of the school's regular season record set against Bishop's on Jan. 20, 2015.
 
The Martlets also shot well from the foul-line where they drained 15 of 20 attempts, compared to the Citadins who shot 6-for-9 on their freebies. Overall, UQAM connected on just 27.9 per cent of their shots from the field (17/61) and was 5-for-22 from the arc.
 
"Perhaps playing at home helped our shooting a little bit because those are the rims in the gym that we practice on," Bowles noted. "But really it was our ability to get into the paint, attack and find each other for kick-outs and finding time and space to make those shots. It was really fun to watch that and be a part of it."
 
McGill (3-2) will put its modest two-win streak on the line when playing at Concordia (2-2) on Thursday, Nov. 28, in a 6 p.m. tip-off. It will be the last game before the upcoming break for exams and holidays.  The Martlets will then return to the court on Jan. 3 for a non-conference game against the Windsor Lancers.

UQAM (0-4) has two games remaining before the break. They play at Bishop's (2-1) on Nov. 28, followed by a home game against Laval (3-1) on Nov. 30.
 
MARTLET MURMURS: All 12 players who dressed for McGill got into the game and each had at least 10 minutes of playing time... One of them was rookie guard Karen Hoteit, a science freshman from Beirut who has been recovering from an undisclosed injury. She played in her first university game, had 13 minutes of court-time and scored her first basket at the U SPORTS level, shooting 1-for-2.
 
BOXSCORE

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS

MARTLETS HIGHEST SCORING RESULTS

EXHIBITION GAMES
W 118-40 vs Queen's* (O-16-81)
W 109-59 vs Lee College* (J-7-96; at Webber College New Year's Tournament)
W 101-38 vs UCCB* (N-1-96; Redbird Classic Tournament)
W 100-33 vs Carleton* (O-22-95)
 
REGULAR SEASON GAMES
W 102-45 vs UQAM (N-23-24)
W 101-12 vs Sir George Williams University (J-16-74)
W 100-29 at Bishop's (N-15-75)
W 93-66 vs Concordia (N-18-17)
W 93-68 at UQAM (J-22-11)
W 93-42 at Bishop's (J-24-97)
W 92-61 vs UQAM (N-24-11)
W 90-62 vs Concordia (J-21-17)

SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca