Sask. Huskies win U Sports Final 8 women’s b’ball championship

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Huskies 85, Ravens 66

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It’s a hat-trick — three national titles in 10 years — for coach Lisa Thomaidis and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team.

Led by tournament MVP Gage Grassick, the Huskies defeated the Carleton University Ravens 85-66 in the U Sports Final 8 national championship final Sunday at Vancouver, B.C., avenging a loss to the same Ravens a year ago in the national final.

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“It was incredible to be able to bounce back from last year’s disappointment and get this done,” said Thomaidis. “It’s incredible. Gage was absolutely unbelievable. She showed why she was MVP of the country this year and, each game, she was just the best player on the court.”

Indeed, Grassick showed why she was awarded U Sports player of the year with yet another dominating performance. The point guard from the rural Prince Albert area was all over the floor, finishing the gold-medal game with 35 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

“I’m just so unbelievably proud,” said Grassick, who was named player of the game.

“Anyone who watched that game, Carleton is an absolutely unbelievable team led by a great head coach. Their whole team is amazing. For us to come out, after losing to them last year, and prove that we’re right back in it this year and win the whole thing. I said it from the start, it’s such a team environment and team win. I can’t be more proud of this team.”

Tea DeMong chipped in with 13 points and two assists for Saskatchewan, which enjoyed a lead for nearly the entire game.

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Andrea Dodig — who is the lone player left from the 2020 Bronze Baby-winning Huskies squad — had 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and two steals in what was her last U Sports basketball game.

“It feels so good,” said Dodig. “I’m kind of just enjoying the moment right now. I can’t ask for a better way to start it and end it as a champion. I can’t complain.”

Dodig and Grassick both accepted the Bronze Baby championship trophy and national championship banner following the game during the awards presentation.

“She (Grassick),” noted Dodig, “is just an incredible player and to make such big shots at the end of the game to keep the lead is very key. And to handle the pressure every game, she had a great tournament.”

Logan Reider got her team going early with seven points during her opening shift as the Huskies built up a 24-16 lead in the first quarter and led 45-31 at half-time.

“Defensively, it was a great team win,” said Dodig. “Offensively, we moved the ball early in the first half and, in the second half, we were able to make key shots down the stretch and get stops eventually.”

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It was the Huskies’ fifth trip to the U Sports national championship final, having also won in 2020 and earlier in 2016 for their first-ever title. That first year, Saskatchewan defeated the Ryerson Rams 85-71 in Fredericton, N.B.. In 2020, the Dogs defeated the Brock Badgers 82-64 in Ottawa, Ont., at Carleton University.

“They’re all special,” said Thomaidis. “We definitely wanted another shot at them (Ravens). We had lots to prove this year and it’s really sweet to have won it and have them as the team that we beat.”

Saskatchewan dropped a 70-67 decision to Carleton a year ago in the national final, so the Huskies had some revenge on their minds this year.

“It’s absolutely an incredible feeling,” said Grassick. “You know what, I just absolutely love playing against Carleton. Not playing them all year and matching up against them twice, two years in a row in the national championship game, is just inspiring knowing that both of our programs mean so much to U Sport and, to play each other back-to-back years just speaks to the level of how far women’s sport, especially, has come.”

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U-Sask also lost in 2018 to the Ravens, falling 69-48 in Regina.

Saskatchewan advanced to this year’s final following a 67-58 quarter-final win Thursday over the Alberta Pandas and 85-63 semifinal victory over the host British Columbia Thunderbirds on Saturday night.

“I’ve been saying all season that this is a team that’s just super inspiring and super diverse,” said Grassick. “Anyone, on any given night, you con’t know who’s going to drop 20 points or play amazing defence. We just rely on so many people to make the big shots and that’s hard to guard and scout for eight people.

“For me, it’s all my teammates. They do all the unspoken things, like setting a screen to get me open. Scoring is just one part of the game but, if you look at our team, you look at our bigs and their ability to rebound the ball is the reason why we got so many fast breaks and the reason we got the ball in transition or second-chance shots. Sure, I put the ball in the hoop and all of us put the ball in the hoop, but it was really those things don’t show up on the stat sheet that really were make-or-break in this game.”

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