Huskies earn top seed ahead of U SPORTS Final 8

TORONTO (U SPORTS) – The Saskatchewan Huskies were named tournament favourites on Sunday, while the Calgary Dinos earned the at-large berth, as the seeding and quarterfinal matchups were announced for the women's tournament at the 2020 U SPORTS Final 8 Basketball Championships.

The women's tournament, hosted jointly with the men's championship for the first time in the nation's capital by the Carleton Ravens, Ottawa Gee-Gees and the Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group, tips off on Thursday and concludes Sunday with the gold medal game at 4 p.m.

All championship bracket games (quarterfinals, semifinals, medal round) from both the men's and women's tournaments will be played at The Arena at TD Place, while the consolation brackets will be played at the Ravens Nest on the campus of Carleton University.

Livestreaming in English is available for free worldwide on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, with French digital coverage carried on USPORTS.LIVE.

TEAM PROFILES

No.	Team	Playoff Finish	Records (Regular Season / Playoffs)	Last / Total Titles	Team Offence (PTS/Game)	Team Defence (PTS Against/Game)
1	Saskatchewan	CW Champions	18-2 / 3-0	2016 / 1	83.0 / 1^st	49.5 / 1^st
2	Brock	OUA Champions	17-5 / 3-0	Never	70.9 / 20^th	61.0 / 10^th
3	Ryerson	OUA Finalists	18-4 / 2-1	Never	76.2 / 5^th	57.6 / 5^th
4	Laval	RSEQ Champions	12-4 / 2-0	Never	56.9 / 40^th	53.8 / 2^nd
5	Alberta	CW Finalists	16-4 / 2-1	1999 / 1	70.4 / 21^st	58.0 / 7^th
6	UPEI	AUS Champions	17-3 / 2-0	Never	72.5 / 14^th	61.9 / 12^th
7	Calgary	CW Semifinalists / At-large berth	18-2 / 1-1	1989 / 1	73.8 / 9^th	57.4 / 4^th
8	Carleton	OUA Quarterfinalists / Hosts	15-7 / 1-1	2018 / 1	68.1 / 24^th	57. 9 / 6^th

TEAM LEADERS

No.	Team	Points/Game	Rebounds/Game	Assists/Game
1	Saskatchewan	Summer Masikewich, 17.4	Summer Masikewich, 9.1	Libby Epoch, 4.6
2	Brock	Melissa Tati, 18.5	Samantha Keltos, 8.0	Melissa Tati, 6.6
3	Ryerson	Marin Scotten, 17.0	Bronwyn Williams, 7.4	Hayley Robertson, 6.0
4	Laval	Khaléann Caron-Goudreau, 11.2	Khaléann Caron-Goudreau, 10.8	Maude Archambault & Carrie-Ann Auger, 2.6
5	Alberta	Vanessa Wild, 18.0	Vanessa Wild, 6.0	Morgan, Mudge, 3.0
6	UPEI	Jenna Mae Ellsworth, 20.5	Carolina Del Santo, 12.0	Reese Baxendale, 3.7
7	Calgary	Liene Stalidzane, 14.8	Erin McIntosh, 5.6	Clara Tapia Palcio, 3.3
8	Carleton	Alyssa Cerino, 16.3	Alyssa Cerino, 7.5	Kali, Pocrnic, 3.0

No. 1 Saskatchewan Huskies
CW Champions

Winning their fourth conference title in the last five years, the Saskatchewan Huskies are once again off to the U SPORTS Final 8 looking for the second national title in program history.

Ranked atop the U SPORTS Top 10 in every week except for one throughout the year, the Huskies led the nation in both scoring and defence. Their average of allowing just 49.5 points per game was the best mark by a Canada West team since 2009-10.

While Summer Masikewich earns much-deserved plaudits as a leader on both ends of the floor, this is a deep team that features seven players averaging over five points per game.

A trio of fifth years in Megan Ahlstrom, Vera Crooks and Sabine Dukate all were part of the team that won the program's lone national title in 2015-16 and will look to cap off their Huskies career with another.

No. 2 Brock badgers
OUA Champions

Brock manufactured a great regular season by posting a 17-5 record, and though the team didn't dominate the box scores on a nightly basis, they did show an ability to hit from deep, finishing third in the OUA with 179 made three-pointers.

Third-year post player Samantha Keltos (15.4 ppg), a second team all-star, and senior guard Jessica Morris (11.0 ppg) were two of three Badgers to score double digits on the year, but fifth-year guard and conference Player of the Year Melissa Tatti was the team's relentless motor, helping Brock maintain its poise when it mattered most, especially throughout an incredible postseason run.

No. 3 Ryerson Rams
OUA Finalists

It was just a season ago that the Ryerson Rams hosted the U SPORTS Final 8 Championship on home court and their experience at the national level has left them hungry for more in 2019-20.

The Rams spent the entire season in the national rankings, peaking as high as No. 2 following an 18-4 campaign to top a competitive OUA Central division. Key victories came against Western, Carleton, and Brock while never losing back-to-back games and stringing together multiple four-game win streaks.

Junior guard Marin Scotten stepped up to lead the team in scoring with 17 PPG en route to second team all-star honours. Her play proved invaluable after talented junior guard Jama Bin-Edward went down injured with just 10 games played. Scotten also grabbed 7.3 RPG, finishing right behind senior forward Bronwyn Williams at 7.4.

No. 4 Laval Rouge et Or
RSEQ Champions

No. 5 Alberta Pandas
CW Finalists

Despite losing one of their best players to injury in the pre-season, the Pandas still finished fourth in Canada West with a 16-4 record, including upset wins over nationally-ranked Calgary and Saskatchewan in the final month of the season. The Pandas carried that play into the post-season, defeating Fraser Valley in the quarter-final, before upsetting the Dinos again in the Canada West semifinal in Calgary.

Canada West First Team all-star Vanessa Wild finished fifth in Canada West averaging 18.0 points per game, including a 39-point performance against Mount Royal in November, which set a new Pandas single-game scoring record.

This will be the Pandas first trip to the Final 8 since three-straight appearances from 2014 to 2016.

No. 6 UPEI Panthers
AUS Champions

No. 7 Calgary Dinos
CW Semifinalists / At-large berth
All season long, the Dinos' powerful offensive strategy have led the team to consistent victories, with an 18-2 record and their only losses coming to Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Leading the front are third-year guard Liene Stalidzane (14.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 46.3 FG%), fourth-year wing Bobbi-Jo Colburn (13.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 43.5 FG%), and fifth-year wing Erin McIntosh (12.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 42.0 FG%).

In the post-season, the Dinos beat the UNBC Timberwolves in the CW quarter-finals, before falling to the Alberta Pandas in the semis, but their strong campaign earned the team at-large berth.

No. 8 Carleton Ravens
OUA Quarterfinalists / Hosts

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Date	Event	Time (ET)	Time (PT)	English	French
Wed. Mar. 4	All-Canadians Awards Gala	7 p.m.	4 p.m.	N/A	N/A
Thurs. Mar. 5	No. 3 Ryerson vs. No. 6 UPEI	1 p.m.	10 a.m.	CBCSports.ca CBC Gem CBC Sports App	USPORTS.LIVE
	No. 2 Brock vs. No. 7 Calgary	3 p.m.	12 p.m.
	No. 4 Laval vs. No. 5 Alberta	6 p.m.	3 p.m.
	No. 1 Saskatchewan vs. No. 8 Carleton	8 p.m.	5 p.m.