Courtesy Steve Bezanson, The Chronicle Herald
Defence, defence, defence.
In one of the lowest-scoring games in championship history, the sixth-seeded St. Francis Xavier X-Women upset the No. 3 Carleton Ravens 50-44 in the first quarter-final matchup of the CIS women’s basketball Final 8, Friday afternoon, at the University of Windsor’s St. Denis Centre.
In only their second-ever appearance at the Final 8, the X-Women advance to today’s semifinal at 7 p.m., where they’ll face the No. 2 Saskatchewan Huskies, 58-51 winners over the No. 7 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.
The Cape Breton Capers also advanced to the semis after beating the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 58-49. They’ll now face the Windsor Lancers.
After meeting last Saturday in the final of the Central Regional qualifying tournament, which saw the X-Women come away with a 64-59 win against the Ravens, St. F.X. managed to pull out another win despite a less than stellar shooting exhibition.
X’s Donisha Young led all scorers in the game with 15 points and also grabbed six rebounds. Kristen Jones chipped in with 13.
Reigning AUS defensive player of the year Ashley Stephen had eight points and eight rebounds.
"This is a huge win for our program," said the Scarborough, Ont., native. "No one really thought we would make it here, and now we’re headed to the national semifinals. This is awesome."
Carleton, No.3 ranked in Canada after losing to the host Lancers in the OUA championship game earlier this month, was led by the duo of Ashleigh Cleary and Alyson Bush who scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Both teams struggled from the field, with the X-Women shooting just 36 percent (18 of 50) and the Ravens faring even worse, connecting on just 18-of-66 shots for 27.3 percent.
The all-time CIS championship record for lowest combined point total is 84, while the record for fewest points by a winning team is 47.
Capers 58, Varsity Blues 49: Cape Breton stormed out to a 23-12 first quarter lead and then clawed its way to a win.
Toronto stormed back to tie it 38-38 heading late in the third quarter but the Capers responded by outscoring the Blues 20-11 in the final quarter.
Kari Everett powered the Cape Breton offence with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Jahlica Kirnon added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Stephanie Toxopeus chipped in with 10 points.
Semifinal play is slated for 7 and 9 p.m. today, while Sunday’s championship tilt is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.