Saskatchewan Huskies back on top of university women’s basketball
Dukate concludes her U Sp orts career with a rain of treys to key the victory
The Bronze Baby trophy is heading back to Saskatoon. Powered by a remarkable three- point shooting display by Sabine Dukate, the Saskatchewan Huskies outgunned the Brock Badgers 82- 64 on Sunday evening to capture the Canadian university women’s basketball championship.
Dukate was a brilliant 8- for- 12 from outside the three-point arc on her way to a team-high 24 points as well as the tournament’s MVP award and an all- star team selection in the game at TD Place Arena. Four years ago in Fredericton, she scored 22 points as the Huskies captured their first title against the Ryerson Rams.
“It definitely feels different than my first year. It was kind of a blank for me ( then),” said Dukate, who concluded her university career with Sunday’s masterpiece performance.
“I didn’t know how much work and effort it takes to win a national championship. I feel like now I know how much it takes, and that makes it feel even better now, winning it.”
Brock coach Mike Rao, whose program is still seeking its first national title, said the Badgers had no answer for Dukate in this contest.
“We tried everything. We tried to zone them, we tried to junk them a bit, we manned them, and they had an answer every time,” Rao said. “Five (Dukate) was just outstanding. She shot the lights out.”
Saskatchewan was 14- for35 from outside the arc, and Brock was 11- for-29, but too many of the latter’s successful attempts came after the final result was already determined, mostly by Dukate.
She did have more than a little help, though. Summer
Masikewich added 20 points in the final, earning herself an all- star team selection, while Katriana Philipenko chipped in with 11, including a trio of three-pointers.
All-stars Samantha Keltos and Melissa Tatti paced Brock’s offence with 21 and 14 points, respectively, while Jenneke Pilling added 12.
The other all- star was University of Prince Edward Island Panthers guard Jenna Mae Elsworth, whose team won the bronze-medal game against the Laval Rouge et Or 57-50 earlier on Sunday.
In the final, It was 45- 33 for the Huskies at halftime and 63- 47 through three quarters.
“We played our best basketball at the right time and we really peaked at this tournament. I thought we played really unselfish, quality basketball. It was fun to watch them,” said Huskies coach Lisa Thomaidis, whose team also reached the 2018 final, losing to the Carleton Ravens.
“We have a city of less than 250,000 people in the middle of the Prairies. … Who would guess that we would be a basketball hotbed? To have this kind of success really says a lot. We think it’s pretty awesome that we have something special there.”
Let’s do it again?
Jointly organized by Carleton, the University of Ottawa and Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group, the combined women’s and men’s basketball nationals reached their target of $ 300,000 in gross ticket sales by the time the bronze- medal games rolled around Sunday afternoon.
Another stated goal was to bring the women’s tournament to another level by taking it to a larger arena setting than is usually the case.
“The women have also received some great fans in smaller venues and smaller communities,” Lisette Johnson Stapley, U Sports’ chief sport officer, said Sunday. “But I have since heard some athletes that have walked in here and just looked around and were in complete awe. Many haven’t played in this type of venue, whereas the men have had that luxury in
Halifax and in other places. To know that and to feel that, it’s a great feeling and an opportunity for them all.”
The joint championships in Ottawa was a one- year experiment. Next year, the men’s tournament will return to Halifax, while the women’s event will take place in Kingston. The bid process for tournaments beyond that will take place this summer.
Johnson Stapley and Jennifer Brenning, Carleton’s assistant vice- president for recreation and athletics, both referred to the possibility of joint championships not only in basketball, but also in other sports, depending on the availability of facilities in host locations.
Carleton and uottawa “need a little breather, but I think I hope it’s not a one-off thing, certainly,” Brenning said. “For U Sports, I hope it’s not a one-off. Others, I hope, will bid for both (championships). Looking down the road, we would potentially look at this event again.”