March 6, 2009
NO. 1 CLAN DOMINATE GEE-GEES, OFF TO SEMIS AT CIS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
REGINA, Sask. – Five players scored in double figures as the top-seeded Simon Fraser Clan dominated the No. 8 Ottawa Gee-Gees 89-42 in the first quarterfinal of the 2009 CIS women's basketball championship, Friday afternoon, at the University of Regina.
It was the most lopsided contest at the championship since Victoria beat Toronto 81-31 in the first round in 1982.
The Simon Fraser victory ended a three-year dry spell for No. 1 seeds in the opening round of the tournament. The Clan were upset by Laval 71-68 as tourney favourites year ago in Saskatoon, while UBC and Saskatchewan suffered the same fate in 2007 and 2006, respectively.
Championship web site: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_basketball/2009
Simon Fraser, which has captured three Bronze Baby trophies as national champion since joining CIS in 2000-01 (2002, 2005, 2007), advances to Saturday's first semi-final at 6 p.m. Central Time (7 p.m. Eastern), live on The Score Television Network. The Clan will face the winners of the first-round duel between No. 4 Alberta and No. 5 Laval.
Ottawa moves to the consolation side of the draw and will play the losers of the Alberta-Laval match-up Saturday at 1 p.m. Central.
The tournament opener was close for about five minutes, with the heavily-favoured Clan leading 15-12 midway through the first quarter. The Canada West champions ended the opening stanza on a 14-2 run for a 29-14 advantage after 10 minutes, and never looked back.
SFU was ahead 44-25 at halftime and 64-34 after three periods.
Fourth-year post Matteke Hutzler (Napanee, Ont.) led all Clan players with 15 points. Second-team all-Canadians Robyn Buna (Kelowna, B.C.) and Laurelle Weigl (Stony Plain, Alta.) added 14 points apiece, while fifth-year forward Courtney Gerwing (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) had 12 and freshman Kelsey Horsting (Langley, B.C.), 11.
Gerwing added six assists and seven rebounds in 27 minutes of court time to earn game-MVP honours for the victors. Hutzler and post Kate Hole (St. Albert, Alta.) both grabbed 10 rebounds.
"We needed to come out and dictate tempo and once we settled into the game we were able to do that," said Hutzler of the team's first-quarter run. "It's the CIS national championship, and everyone on the team understands how we need to approach each game, and keep our intensity and focus up at all times."
Hannah Sunley-Paisley was one of the lone bright spots for the OUA finalist Gee-Gees. The sophomore post from Toronto was named Ottawa player of the game after she scored a match-high 17 points and grabbed 10 boards.
Fifth-year post Katie Laurie (Ottawa) added 10 points in the losing cause.
"It was a good experience playing them," Sunley-Paisley said. "I left everything on the floor and I hope the other girls did too."
Simon Fraser shot 50.0 percent (38-76) from the floor on the afternoon compared to 27.5 percent (19-69) for Ottawa. Both teams finished with 43 rebounds.
The aggressive Clan defence forced numerous turnovers. SFU finished with a 17-8 assist-to-turnover ratio, while Ottawa had 23 turnovers, including 12 SFU steals, for only five assists.
GAME NOTES: Simon Fraser had defeated Ottawa 82-37 in the opening round of the 2005 championship in the only previous meeting between the two teams at Nationals… That year, the Clan went on to captured the second of their three Bronze Baby trophies with a 70-60 win over Winnipeg in the gold-medal final… Simon Fraser has won 28 consecutive games against CIS opponents dating back to its lone regular-season loss to Victoria on October 30 (57-56), and is 31-1 overall this season against CIS rivals…
STAT LEADERS
Simon Fraser
Points: Matteke Hutzler (15), Robyn Buna (14), Laurelle Weigl (14)
Rebounds: Matteke Hutzler (10), Kate Hole (10)
Assists: Lisa Tindle (6), Courtney Gerwing (6)
Player of the game: Matteke Hutzler
Ottawa
Points: Hannah Sunley-Paisley (10), Katie Laurie (10)
Rebounds: Hannah Sunley-Paisley (10), Katie Laurie (5)
Assists: Kelly Weir (2)
Player of the game: Hannah Sunley-Paisley
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL: Central Time)
Friday, March 6
Quarterfinal #1: No. 1 Simon Fraser 89, No. 8 Ottawa 42
15:00 Quarterfinal #2: No. 5 Laval vs. No. 4 Alberta
18:30 Quarterfinal #3: No. 7 Cape Breton vs. No. 2 Regina
20:15 Quarterfinal #4: No. 6 Saskatchewan vs. No. 3 Windsor
Saturday, March 7
13:00 Consolation #1
15:00 Consolation #2
18:00 Semi-final #1 (The Score)
20:00 Semi-final #2 (The Score)
Sunday, March 8
13:00 5th place
15:00 Bronze medal
18:00 Championship final (The Score)
Source: CIS Communications
It was the most lopsided contest at the championship since Victoria beat Toronto 81-31 in the first round in 1982.
The Simon Fraser victory ended a three-year dry spell for No. 1 seeds in the opening round of the tournament. The Clan were upset by Laval 71-68 as tourney favourites year ago in Saskatoon, while UBC and Saskatchewan suffered the same fate in 2007 and 2006, respectively.
Championship web site: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_basketball/2009
Simon Fraser, which has captured three Bronze Baby trophies as national champion since joining CIS in 2000-01 (2002, 2005, 2007), advances to Saturday's first semi-final at 6 p.m. Central Time (7 p.m. Eastern), live on The Score Television Network. The Clan will face the winners of the first-round duel between No. 4 Alberta and No. 5 Laval.
Ottawa moves to the consolation side of the draw and will play the losers of the Alberta-Laval match-up Saturday at 1 p.m. Central.
The tournament opener was close for about five minutes, with the heavily-favoured Clan leading 15-12 midway through the first quarter. The Canada West champions ended the opening stanza on a 14-2 run for a 29-14 advantage after 10 minutes, and never looked back.
SFU was ahead 44-25 at halftime and 64-34 after three periods.
Fourth-year post Matteke Hutzler (Napanee, Ont.) led all Clan players with 15 points. Second-team all-Canadians Robyn Buna (Kelowna, B.C.) and Laurelle Weigl (Stony Plain, Alta.) added 14 points apiece, while fifth-year forward Courtney Gerwing (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) had 12 and freshman Kelsey Horsting (Langley, B.C.), 11.
Gerwing added six assists and seven rebounds in 27 minutes of court time to earn game-MVP honours for the victors. Hutzler and post Kate Hole (St. Albert, Alta.) both grabbed 10 rebounds.
"We needed to come out and dictate tempo and once we settled into the game we were able to do that," said Hutzler of the team's first-quarter run. "It's the CIS national championship, and everyone on the team understands how we need to approach each game, and keep our intensity and focus up at all times."
Hannah Sunley-Paisley was one of the lone bright spots for the OUA finalist Gee-Gees. The sophomore post from Toronto was named Ottawa player of the game after she scored a match-high 17 points and grabbed 10 boards.
Fifth-year post Katie Laurie (Ottawa) added 10 points in the losing cause.
"It was a good experience playing them," Sunley-Paisley said. "I left everything on the floor and I hope the other girls did too."
Simon Fraser shot 50.0 percent (38-76) from the floor on the afternoon compared to 27.5 percent (19-69) for Ottawa. Both teams finished with 43 rebounds.
The aggressive Clan defence forced numerous turnovers. SFU finished with a 17-8 assist-to-turnover ratio, while Ottawa had 23 turnovers, including 12 SFU steals, for only five assists.
GAME NOTES: Simon Fraser had defeated Ottawa 82-37 in the opening round of the 2005 championship in the only previous meeting between the two teams at Nationals… That year, the Clan went on to captured the second of their three Bronze Baby trophies with a 70-60 win over Winnipeg in the gold-medal final… Simon Fraser has won 28 consecutive games against CIS opponents dating back to its lone regular-season loss to Victoria on October 30 (57-56), and is 31-1 overall this season against CIS rivals…
STAT LEADERS
Simon Fraser
Points: Matteke Hutzler (15), Robyn Buna (14), Laurelle Weigl (14)
Rebounds: Matteke Hutzler (10), Kate Hole (10)
Assists: Lisa Tindle (6), Courtney Gerwing (6)
Player of the game: Matteke Hutzler
Ottawa
Points: Hannah Sunley-Paisley (10), Katie Laurie (10)
Rebounds: Hannah Sunley-Paisley (10), Katie Laurie (5)
Assists: Kelly Weir (2)
Player of the game: Hannah Sunley-Paisley
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL: Central Time)
Friday, March 6
Quarterfinal #1: No. 1 Simon Fraser 89, No. 8 Ottawa 42
15:00 Quarterfinal #2: No. 5 Laval vs. No. 4 Alberta
18:30 Quarterfinal #3: No. 7 Cape Breton vs. No. 2 Regina
20:15 Quarterfinal #4: No. 6 Saskatchewan vs. No. 3 Windsor
Saturday, March 7
13:00 Consolation #1
15:00 Consolation #2
18:00 Semi-final #1 (The Score)
20:00 Semi-final #2 (The Score)
Sunday, March 8
13:00 5th place
15:00 Bronze medal
18:00 Championship final (The Score)
Source: CIS Communications
