TORONTO – The University of Saskatchewan women's basketball team was able to hold off a hard-charging Acadia Axewomen squad to pick up a 77-69 win and advance to the semifinal stage at the U SPORTS Final 8 in Toronto, ON.
 
Summer Masikewich and Kyla Shand came up big for the Huskies as Saskatchewan dominated down-low, outscoring Acadia 36-18 in the paint and grabbing 19 more rebounds than the Axewomen.
 
Masikewich was 10 of 22 from the floor en route to scoring a game high 25 points and also chipped in with three blocks, while Shand recorded the double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
That offensive production from the Huskies' bigs was vital in a game where their offence wasn't running on all cylinders as they struggled to score from outside in the first and fourth quarters.
 
"Acadia can really shoot from three and the ball just stuck in our hands too long at times, we tried to force things on the perimeter when our advantage was inside so it just got a bit ugly there," said Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis. "We built a lead and just couldn't put them away, credit to Acadia because they just kept coming back and there was a lot of fight in them."
 
Also scoring in the double-digits were Libby Epoch, who recorded 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals and Megan Ahlstrom who finished with 10 points.
 
A slow start for the Huskies saw Acadia jump out to an early lead and hold it throughout the opening frame. Shand helped the Huskies chip away with five points in the first, but the Huskies shot just 27.8 per cent from the floor en route to trailing 14-13 after 10 minutes.
 
A Brianna Fehr bucket early in the second quarter gave the Huskies their first lead since the opening score of the game and despite some close calls, Saskatchewan would never relinquish the advantage for the rest of the night.

Shand keyed a 10-0 Huskies' run in the middle of the frame with a pair of finishes in the paint and Saskatchewan held a 38-38 lead at the half.
 
Masikewich dominated the third quarter, scoring 15 points in the frame and allowing Saskatchewan to lead by as many as 19 before Acadia ended the quarter on a 9-2 run to make the score 62-51 entering the fourth and final frame.
 
The Axewomen continued that strong play in the fourth quarter and came all the way back to cut the lead to just three with three minutes left to play. The Huskies' veterans had an answer however and a three-pointer from Sabine Dukate combined with a steal and finish from Epoch allowed Saskatchewan to ride out the game for the eight-point victory.

Next up for the No. 3 seed Huskies will be a semifinal match with the No. 2 McMaster Marauders, who dispatched the Concordia Stingers 86-68 in their quarter-final. That game is set for 2 p.m. CST on Saturday, March 9 and can be watch live at usports.live