VANCOUVER, B.C. - The Saskatchewan Huskies captured their third national championship in program history with an 85-66 victory over the Carleton Ravens in the 2025 INDOCHINO Women's Final 8 championship game on Sunday night (Mar. 16) at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

"This is special because it was a rematch of last year and there was a lot of disappointment after that with it being so close, so this is terribly satisfying," said Huskie head coach Lisa Thomaidis. "I think we learned a lot of lessons from last year and they're a team that's so unique that when you play them the first time, it can be a bit of a shell shock. We used that experience to our advantage for sure and improved on some skills that we needed to over the year and we're just a deeper team. We had more weapons, more defensive weapons and people took their training in the offseason seriously. That really hurt last year, and so they didn't want to feel that again."

The Huskies (28-2, 18-2 Canada West), who avenged last year's championship game loss to Carleton, dominated from the opening tip, building a double-digit lead early and never looking back. Gage Grassick led the charge with a game-high 35 points, including seven three-pointers, and added seven assists and three steals. Her performance earned her tournament MVP honors.

"I really don't even know what to say, just tears of joy [and] excitement," said Grassick "All the blood, sweat, and tears each of us have put in to know that in the end it was all worth it is an indescribable feeling."

"We've watched that Carlton game [2024 U SPORTS Final] as a team multiple times and I think it was just the ability of Carlton to score the ability of Carlton to defend that really just sparked us this year," continued Grassick. "We knew if we got back into this game like we needed to be able to contend, so every practice, every game we were trying to measure ourselves up to teams like that. Carlton came out on top last year; we came out on top this year, I think we're two teams that are pretty talented and it's always going to be battle no matter what."

The Huskies set the tone early, outscoring the Ravens 24-16 in the first quarter thanks in part to the offence picking up where they left off in Saturday's semifinal win over UBC. Early triples from Logan Reider and Andrea Dodig helped the Dogs' hot start, with the pair finishing with 12 combined first quarter points. 

Early in the second, it was an Ella Murphy Wiebe block that set up a Dodig layup to stretch the lead to 10, forcing the Ravens to call a timeout. Despite the attempt to stop the Dogs' momentum, Dodig continued to find the mark, recording seven points while Grassick added six with a pair of triples. Saskatchewan would take a 45-31 into the half.

The third saw Grassick catch fire from beyond the arc, connecting on all three of her attempts from three-point range. Téa DeMong would add nine points of her own on 4-of-4 shooting as the Huskies outscored Carleton 18-17.

The U SPORTS Player of the Year and tournament MVP would lead her team to the title in the final frame, recording 18 fourth quarter points, bringing her game total to 35. Grassick's performance not only earned her a pair of accolades, but it was also one for the history books, with the veteran guard totaling the sixth-most points in a U SPORTS Final 8 game. Her performance also marked the second consecutive championship game totaling over 30 points following last year's final in which she recorded 30.

Throughout the game Saskatchewan's defense was particularly stifling, recording seven blocks and six steals, while holding Carleton to just 10 assists. 

Saskatchewan's offense was firing on all cylinders, shooting 48.3% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc. The Huskies also capitalized on their free-throw opportunities, converting 19 of 22 attempts (86.4%). Grassick was supported by DeMong, who added 13 points, and Dodig, who contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. 

Carleton (32-4, 22-0 OUA), the defending national champions, struggled to find their rhythm offensively, shooting just 32.4% from the field and 30.8% from three-point range. Teresa Donato led the Ravens with 24 points, while Kyana Jade Poulin added 14 points and two steals. Despite a valiant effort, Carleton could not overcome Saskatchewan's relentless defense and efficient scoring. 

This marks Saskatchewan's third national title, adding to their championships in 2016 and 2020. For Carleton, the loss ends their bid for three straight national titles and gives them their first national silver medal in program history.