TORONTO – It came down to the very last shot of the game, but in the end the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's basketball team came up just short in their pursuit of the fifth national medal in program history, as they fell 63-62 to the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the U SPORTS bronze medal game.
 
The loss brings an end to an incredibly successful season for a Huskies team that won a Canada West banner and advanced to the U SPORTS semifinal stage for the seventh time in the past eight seasons.
 
"I was really proud of our effort, I thought we came out and played the way we are more accustomed to, we've played a little tight in the first two games, but that first half showed what this team is capable of," said Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis.
 
The difference in the game was undoubtedly a third quarter that saw the Huskies go ice-cold from the floor en route to being outscored 21-6 by the Gee-Gees.
 
"The third quarter killed us, we were 2 of 19," said Thomaidis. "We had lots of looks at the rim and opportunities, none of them went down and that was the difference, more than anything we played 30 out of 40 minutes and that wasn't good enough tonight."
 
Sabine Dukate scored a game-high 15 points, 10 of which came during a fourth-quarter comeback. Summer Masikewich continued her strong play at nationals, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while Kyla Shand rounded out the top-scorers with 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Huskies came out of the gates with a hot hand and a pair of three-pointers early from Libby Epoch allowed Saskatchewan to jump out to a 13-5 lead. Ottawa would bounce back towards the end of the frame but the Huskies still led 19-12 after the first quarter.
 
It was more of the same for Saskatchewan in the second stanza. Shand went to work on the offensive glass, pulling down four of her six offensive rebounds in the frame while also scoring nine points. Saskatchewan increased their lead to as many as 19 points at the halfway mark of the second quarter before Ottawa once again began to claw their way back into the game, sending the teams into the halftime break with Saskatchewan up 41-27.
 
After Megan Ahlstrom started the third quarter with a three-pointer, the offence suddenly dried up for Saskatchewan. Ottawa scored 21 of the next 24 points in the contest to take their first lead of the game into the fourth and final frame up 48-47.
 
A back-and-forth final quarter saw Ottawa lead 60-56 late before Dukate nailed a pair of three-pointers to make the score 63-62 in favour of the Gee-Gees with just 18 seconds on the clock but the ball in Saskatchewan's possession.

The Huskies drove the ball up the floor where a scramble ensued off a missed pass, the ball found its way into Saskatchewan's hands but the potential game-winning shot bounced off the rim as time expired.  
 
"We are still a young team, there was lots of learning that took place and we know what level we need to be at," said Thomaidis. "The two losses that we did have came down to mental errors at the end of the game. Most of our team will be back next year and we will be better with this experience."