Saskatchewan dethrones Carleton in U Sports women's basketball final; Victoria routs Calgary for men's title
Huskies defeat defending champion Ravens; Vikes win 1st men's crown in 28 years
One of the smallest players on the court had the biggest impact as Gage Grassick scored 35 points, including seven three-pointers, to lead the top-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies to a 85-66 win over the Carleton Ravens to win the U Sports women's basketball Final 8 championship game at UBC's War Memorial Gymnasium on Sunday.
The win denied the Ravens the chance to win their third consecutive title. The game also was a rematch of last year's final where the Ravens edged the Huskies 70-67.
"We always look back at that Carleton game, the way they defend and the way they can put the ball in the hoop," said Grassick, a five-foot-eight guard from Prince Albert, Sask., who was named both the U Sport women's basketball player of the year and MVP of the tournament.
"For us it was using that game as motivation but also coming into this game knowing it's a fresh start, not a repeat of last year."
Head coach Lisa Thomaidis said the win "validates all the hard work these women have put in."
Playing Carleton again made it even more special.
"I think our players really did want a second chance at them," said Thomaidis. "They played extraordinary well."
WATCH | Huskies hammer defending champion Ravens:
In the men's final, Renoldo Robinson scored 24 points and had nine rebounds to lead the University of Victoria Vikes to an 82-53 win over the Calgary Dinos. It was the first men's title for Victoria in 28 years.
Tea DeMong added 13 points for the Huskies, who won their third national championship. Andrea Dodig had 12 points while Courtney Primeau led both teams with nine rebounds.
Late in the match Grassick made some magic.
After taking a long shot that hit the rim, the pharmacy student snagged her own rebound, paused, faked, then drove to the basketball for a layup.
She finished the game with seven rebounds and seven assists.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock Grassick dribbled the ball up the floor, a huge grin on her face. After the game, she hugged her mother Karen on the court.
She said winning the championship was a team effort.
"Throughout the entire season it wasn't just one person, it was everyone consistently being a threat and knowing it's whoever's day to score 20 plus points," said Grassick.
Thomaidis said Grassick balances a heavy workload at university with being the best player on the team.
"She's probably the smallest person on the court most of the time, yet the biggest heart, the biggest competitor, the most impactful player we've ever had," said Thomaidis. "She's the best leader we've ever had."
The Huskies, who shot 48.3 per cent from the floor compared to 32.4 by Ottawa, built a 45-31 halftime lead. They finished the game making 10 of 24 three-pointers compared to eight of 26 for Carleton.
Teresa Donato led the Ravens with 24 points.
Carleton coach Dani Sinclair said her team couldn't dig itself out of an early hole.
"We just got outplayed from start to finish," said Sinclair. "We didn't really put ourselves in a position today to win that game. Saskatchewan just took it to us."
Carleton advanced to the gold-medal game with an 84-60 win over the Ottawa Gee-Gees in Saturday night's semifinals, while the Huskies downed the host UBC Thunderbirds 85-63.
Ottawa defeated UBC 68-61 in the women's bronze-medal game.
Vikes win 1st men's title in nearly 3 decades
Renoldo Robinson wasn't even born the last time the University of Victoria Vikes lifted the Canadian men's university basketball championship trophy.
On Sunday, Robinson helped cut down the net down after the Vikes defeated the Calgary Dinos 82-53 to win their first title in 28 years in the men's basketball Final 8 championship game at UBC's War Memorial Gymnasium.
"Man, it feels amazing," said Robinson, a six-foot-three guard from Montreal, who led both teams with 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds. "I'm so happy and grateful."
Geoffrey James scored 17 points for the Vikes, including hitting three three-pointers. Ethan Boag added 12 points while Shadynn Smid had 11 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.
WATCH | Victoria Vikes rout Calgary Dinos in men's basketball title game:
Victoria was playing without star player Diego Maffia, the team's all-time scoring leader, who suffered a knee injury in January.
Victoria built a comfortable 40-23 lead at halftime, hitting 17 of their 43 baskets.
Head coach Murphy Burnatowski said watching his team lift the trophy and celebrate with friends and family in the stands was like being in a dream.
"I don't think I've really had time to process it," said the first-year coach. "It's amazing. I feel like it was really a fairy tale year for us. The way I've seen the boys come together as a team and a family, it's truly unbelievable."
The win was also some revenge for the No. 4-seeded Vikes who lost 77-68 to Calgary in last month's Canada West semifinal after Victoria went 20-0 during the regular season.
"They're the team that ruined our perfect season," said Burnatowski. "That's in the back of everyone's minds. We were laser focused this entire week."
The Vikes won seven consecutive titles between 1980 and 1986 but had not advanced to the championship game since 2006, losing to Carleton. Victoria last won the title in 1997 with a win over McMaster.
"My first year, I didn't really know much about the Vikes," said Robinson, who was born in 2001 and is playing in his third season in Victoria.
One of the keys to Victoria's victory was containing Calgary's Nate Petrone, who was named the U Sports men's basketball player of the year earlier in the week after leading the country with 484 points in 20 games.
Petrone didn't score until he hit a free throw in the second quarter and finished the game with 10 points.
Victoria's Sam Maillet, named the U Sports men's defensive player of the year, said stopping Petrone was a team effort.
"Nate is an amazing player and so skilled," said Maillet, a fifth-year guard from Moncton, N.B. "We had guys we could just throw at him. We just kept the pressure up and did the best we could, and we did a good job."
Alan Spoonhunter led the Dinos with 20 points, while Dylan Lutes had 15 rebounds.
Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren said he was proud of the way his team played.
"We showed up and the kids played hard," he said. "We just couldn't get anything to fall."
Victoria advanced to the final with a 89-75 upset over the top-seeded Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday.
Calgary, seeded second in the tournament, defeated the University of P.E.I. Panthers 87-54 in the other semifinal final.
Earlier, Ottawa beat P.E.I. 86-70 to take the bronze medal.
Calgary won the title in 2018 then lost to Carleton in the 2019 final.
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