Dave Deibert
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
With each season gone by, the University of Saskatchewan women’s basketball team seems to add a new chapter to the history books.
This latest passage could be titled “The Wake-Up Call.”
Two weeks ago, the Huskies were ranked No. 1 in the country and sitting on top of their world.
Undefeated this season and on a 51-game winning streak over two seasons. Defending Canada West conference and U Sports national champions. One win away from an automatic berth to nationals, with the chance to defend their crown.
A loss to the Calgary Dinos, at home no less, in the Canada West semifinal served as a reminder that their dreams could end at any moment.
Given a second chance, the Huskies made their dreams come true.
The Bronze Baby is returning to Saskatoon after the fifth-seeded Huskies defended their U Sports national title, knocking off the second-seeded University of New Brunswick Reds 77-68 on Sunday in Quebec City.
“You have to give credit to UNB, and it took us a while to adjust our defence, but our overall team toughness and resilience managed to get us through,” Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis told The Canadian Press.
It’s the Huskies fourth national title in the past 10 seasons, and third in six campaigns, a run of excellence exceeded by only a small number of programs.
Windsor won five titles in a row from 2011 to 2015, Laurentian won seven in 16 seasons between 1975 and 1991, Simon Fraser won five in nine seasons between 2002 and 2010, and Victoria won five in eight seasons between 1980 and 1987.
The Huskies, who received a wild card entry into nationals, are only the ninth program to repeat as national champions. They now trail only Victoria (nine titles), Laurentian (seven), and Simon Fraser and Windsor (five each) in the all-time standings.
In addition to their four national banners, the Huskies also have 10 Canada West championships since Thomaidis took over as head coach in 1998-99.
For those who witnessed or were a part of the Huskies pre-Thomaidis, the before and after is almost unfathomable.
In the 20 seasons before Thomaidis took over as coach, the Huskies went 60-288 — a winning percentage of .173.
During those two decades, there were six winless Canada West campaigns, two seasons with just one victory and three seasons with just two wins.
Now, belief is bred into each version of the Huskies.
Even after the Calgary loss, the Huskies felt confident they would get the wild card spot to nationals. Once there, they knocked off Canada West rival British Columbia 71-55 in the first round. The host Laval Rouge et Or gave them a battle in the semifinal, but the Huskies earned a 55-43 victory.
Saskatchewan started Sunday’s championship game hot, with tournament all-star Gage Grassick scoring 10 points in the first quarter and taking her team to a 25-13 lead. In the second quarter, Logan Reider tallied 12 of her game-high 19 points to help the Huskies claim a 44-32 halftime advantage.
Saskatchewan’s offence stalled in the third quarter, with New Brunswick holding the Dogs scoreless for nearly seven minutes and taking a 45-44 lead.
Up 52-50 heading into the fourth quarter, the Huskies led the entire frame, though it was a two-possession game or less until the final moments. Perhaps no basket was more critical than Reider’s long three-pointer — her fourth of the game — as the shot clock expired with a little over three minutes remaining, pushing her team’s advantage to six points.
Tournament all-star and MVP Ella Murphy Wiebe paced the Huskies with 13 points and 10 rebounds. For the tournament, she averaged 18.3 points and 11.3 rebounds.
Maya Flindall added 17 points for the Huskies, while Grassick stuffed the stats box with 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
While the Huskies were in their third consecutive national final, it was the first championship appearance since 1976 for New Brunswick.
“It’s the sixth medal in our school history, so we are really proud of it, but we will be back,” head coach Erin McAleenan told The Canadian Press.
In the third-place game, Canada West champion Calgary Dinos knocked off Laval 66-59. Tournament all-star Kourtney Oss scored 18 points and pulled down 20 rebounds for the Dinos.
