Huskies celebrate third national championship

Sparked by a brilliant 35-point performance from U Sports player of the year, tournament MVP and player of the game Gage Grassick, the Huskies cruised to an 85-66 victory over the Carleton University Ravens on Sunday night in Vancouver to capture the Canadian university women’s basketball championship for the third time in the past 10 years. 
 
“I’m just so unbelievably proud,” Grassick told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “Anyone who watched that game, Carleton is an absolutely unbelievable team led by a great head coach. Their whole team is amazing. For us to come out, after losing to them last year, and prove that we’re right back in it this year and win the whole thing, I said it from the start, it’s such a team environment and team win. I can’t be more proud of this team.” 
 
A year after falling in the national final to the Ravens, the Huskies turned the tables in this year’s championship game rematch, as the Huskies won their 24th straight game to clinch their third national title after winning their first in 2016 and second in 2020. Grassick gave the Huskies another performance for the ages, racking up 35 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals as the point guard and pharmacy student from Prince Albert showed why she was named the national player of the year on Thursday. 
 
“It was incredible to be able to bounce back from last year’s disappointment and get this done,” Huskies head coach and Canada West conference coach of the year Lisa Thomaidis told the StarPhoenix. “It’s incredible. Gage was absolutely unbelievable. She showed why she was MVP of the country this year and, each game, she was just the best player on the court.” 
 
The Huskies advanced to their fifth national championship game by knocking off the University of Alberta Pandas 67-58 in the quarter-finals last Thursday followed by an 85-63 triumph over the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Saturday night. 
  
Meanwhile in Winnipeg, the Huskie women’s volleyball team’s championship hopes came up short with a pair of losses at nationals to end their late-season run. The USask Huskies fell 3-1 (25-19, 14-25, 25-18, 6-24) to the St. Mary’s University Huskies in the consolation semifinals on Saturday. 
 
This week, USask’s Canada West conference champion Huskie men’s hockey team heads to Ottawa to compete in the U Sports championship, seeded No.2 in the country. The Huskies, who captured their 12th conference championship at USask’s Merlis Belsher Place on March 9, will battle the seventh-seeded Queen’s University Gaels in the quarter-finals on Friday (5 pm, CST). 

USask’s men’s volleyball team is also off to the national championship in Brandon, Man., this week. The Huskies are seeded fifth and will face fourth-seeded Queen’s in the quarter-finals on Friday at 5 pm, CST.

For more on the Huskie women’s basketball team’s championship victory, see the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, HuskieFAN and USask’s Huskies website. You can also read more about Grassick’s storybook season here.