Women’s Basketball News

Women’s Final 8

Pandas finish season strong with bronze medal victory over Huskies

U SPORTS Staff

SYDNEY, N.S. (U SPORTS) - Jenna Harpe scored a game-high 17 points to lead the No. 2 seed Alberta Pandas to a 64-49 win over the No. 4 Saint Mary’s Huskies in the bronze medal game of the 2023 Protocase Women’s Final 8, presented by Bell, at the Sullivan Field House in Sydney on Sunday. Harpe was 7-for-16 from the field in the win for the Pandas.

The Pandas started this game with a mission, as they went on an early 7-0 run and found themselves up 9-2 in the first. The Huskies stormed back, scoring seven straight of their own to tie it up. Due in large part to the Huskies’ nine points off turnovers, this game was 17-17 after one. Alberta responded in the second quarter, having their way, and scoring 12 unanswered points to start the second. Saint Mary’s did not hit a field goal until the four-minute mark but once again came back and had a 9-0 run to pull themselves closer. Alberta slowed it down in the dying minutes and took a 34-27 lead at halftime.

The third quarter was quiet as the two teams combined for just 25 points. Alberta looked uncomfortable in the early going after the break but rallied and found themselves up 49-37 after three quarters. The Pandas were content to slow the game down in the fourth quarter and scored nine straight points in the final four minutes of the game en route to claiming the bronze medal by a final score of 64-49.

Morgan Harris was named player of the game for the Pandas, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 and scoring eight points. Harpe scored 17 for Alberta, while Emma Kary finished with 11 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Alaina McMillan led the way for the Huskies, scoring 13 points and adding nine rebounds. Lucina Beaumont chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds. Marlo Steenbakkers was the player of the game for SMU with 10 points off the bench.

The Canada West conference champion Pandas cap their season off with a bronze medal, while the Saint Mary’s Huskies finish fourth in the tournament. The remaining gold medal game of the championship can be seen at 6 p.m. (Atlantic) on CBC Sports digital platforms (English) and at usports.ca (French).