VANCOUVER, B.C. - The University of Saskatchewan (USask) Huskies advanced to the championship game of the 2025 INDOCHINO U SPORTS Women's Final 8 with a dominant 85-63 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds in the first semifinal at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver, Saturday (Mar. 15). The Huskies, led by a balanced scoring attack and strong defensive play, controlled the game from start to finish, building a 26-12 lead after the first quarter and never looking back.

"I thought we really learned a lot from playing them last weekend and made the appropriate adjustments and our players did a wonderful job of being able to put it into play on the court," said head coach Lisa Thomaidis, who will be coaching for her third U SPORTS Championship Sunday afternoon. "I thought the balanced scoring and the contributions from everyone on the team was impressive to watch. Andy [Dodig] was amazing, it's one of the best games I've seen her play at exactly the right time. And then Ella was a force, to see her athleticism on display out there was fun. Just really excited for this team playing as well as we are going into tomorrow."

The Huskie defence was in peak form from tipoff Saturday night, coming up with a plethora of steals to set up the Saskatchewan transition game and half court offence. The Dogs also established their presence in the paint early in the opening quarter, out-rebounding the home Thunderbirds 12-3 with five coming off the offensive glass.

After a difficult shooting performance from beyond the arc in Thursday's quarter-final against Alberta, the Huskies corrected course early, going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc with Gage Grassick, Olivia Harm, and Logan Reid all connecting from deep. 

The second saw the Dogs, playing in hostile territory, flex their depth with Ella Murphy Wiebe and Maya Flindall each recording eight points as the pace of the game slowed. Saskatchewan took a 49-27 lead into the half.
Returning to the court at the Thunderbirds Sports Centre, the Dogs continued to press the attack, extending their advantage early with six players recording points. UBC, refusing to go away quietly, would find a groove late however, finishing the quarter outscoring the top-ranked Huskies 21-19 by the end of the frame. 

The T-Birds rolled their momentum into the fourth but Andrea Dodig, the only remaining member of the 2019-20 USask national champion team, put a stop to that. Dodig went on an 8-0 scoring run herself, which included back-to-back triples, to push the lead to 24 with five minutes remaining. 

UBC would score just six points in the remaining time, securing the sixth championship berth in program history, and second in as many seasons, for the Huskies.

Dodig was a standout for Saskatchewan, scoring 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc to tie a single-game career high. Ella Murphy Wiebe added 15 points and 9 rebounds and was named Saskatchewan Player of the Game, while Gage Grassick contributed 12 points and 5 assists. The Huskies shot 51.6% from the field and out-rebounded UBC 44-30.

UBC struggled offensively, shooting just 35% from the field and committing 22 turnovers. Mona Berlitz led the Thunderbirds with 15 points, but the team couldn't overcome a slow start and the Huskies' relentless pressure. Saskatchewan's defense held UBC to just 12 points in the first quarter, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

The Huskies will face off with the Carleton Ravens in the U SPORTS Championships game in a rematch of last year's national final which saw the Ravens earn a narrow 70-67 victory. The Championship game is set for Sunday (Mar. 16) at 4:00 PM local time (5:00 PM Sask time) at the Thunderbird Sports Centre and will be telecast on Sportsnet. 

"All the work's been done, and now it's just a matter of putting it back out there tomorrow," added Thomaidis.