Courtesy of University of Calgary sports information office / Photo credit David Moll

CALGARY (CIS) – The fourth-seeded Windsor Lancers captured a second straight Bronze Baby Trophy as CIS women’s basketball champions on Monday night thanks to a 69-53 gold medal win over the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds at the University of Calgary’s Jack Simpson Gymnasium.

After rebounding from a 49-point thumping by the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the OUA final just 16 days ago, the Lancers successfully defended their 2011 title by defeating AUS champion Acadia in the quarter-final, host Calgary in the semi, and the Canada West winner Thunderbirds to take the Bronze Baby back to Windsor.

And for the second straight season, third-year guard Miah-Marie Langlois, who was on Friday night named the CIS defensive player of the year, earned the title of CIS championship MVP. In the final, Langlois had 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, all game highs.

“We just stuck to our game plan all we had to do was tighten the screws,” said the second-team all-Canadian from Windsor. “At the beginning of the tournament they ranked us at number four, but it just shows that no matter what you’re ranked you can still end up at the top.”

Jessica Clemençon, a first-team all-Canadian forward from France and last year’s CIS most outstanding player, chipped in with 16 points and five boards and was chosen MVP of the championship game for Windsor for the second year in a row.

Bojana Kovacevic, also a native of Windsor, contributed 14 points and six boards in the win and accompanied Langlois on the all-tourney team. The fourth-year guard scored 12 of her points from beyond the arc.

UBC was led by Kris Young, a sophomore guard from Vancouver, who was also named a championship all-star after tallying a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds.

Windsor led 20-12 after the opening quarter, 35-26 at halftime and 51-47 after 30 minutes, and sealed the victory with a dominating 18-6 fourth quarter.

UBC returned to the Final 8 for the first time since 2008, when the T-Birds claimed their sixth national title. The Canada West champions, now 6-2 all-time in CIS finals, handled McGill in day one and went on to defeat No. 3 Ottawa in the semifinal. For the third time in the tournament, UBC was matched up on Monday with an opponent from outside its conference.

“In the postseason we had to go against a lot of great teams,” said Thunderbirds head coach Deb Huband, “We ended up being one of the last two to play in the season for the CIS so were really proud of the girls.”

In the early going neither side gave up the easy baskets in a low-scoring first quarter. Some of the best opportunities were coming at mid-range as players were stepping back to put down shots. The Lancers were able to take an early 20-12 lead though the first quarter. Kovacevic scored nine of those points, all from beyond the arc, while the Thunderbirds were held without a made three-point shot or free throw until the second quarter.

Windsor built on its lead in the second quarter with some work down low. The defending champions used the paint to pick up 10 of their 15 points in the quarter as they held a 35-26 lead over the Thunderbirds at half time. UBC was fairly successful on their field goal attempts going 41.4 per cent, but wasn’t getting the free throws that would have built up their score because of the discipline of the Lancers. Kovacevic topped Windsor with 11 points at the half, while Young had eight to lead UBC.

The Thunderbirds came out in the third quarter looking like a brand new team. With 12 and 14 points scored in the first two quarters respectively, UBC put up 21 in the third to bring the score within four going into the final 10 minute session. A big difference was the Thunderbirds ability to pick up more rebounds and get physical, causing the Lancers to foul. After having just one free throw in the first half, UBC had 11 in the third quarter.

But the Lancers dominated the fourth with an 18 point-performance, while holding UBC to just six points on 3-of-18 shooting.

“In the fourth quarter we had to seal the game here as the clock was winding down, just getting more energy knowing the Bronze Baby is minutes away, we kept saying one more quarter, one more quarter, one more shot,” said Windsor head coach Chantal Vallée. “We’re one great team and I'm very proud of the girls.”

Fifth-year forwards Zara Huntley and Alex Vieweg, the only T-Birds who won the Bronze Baby with UBC in 2008, chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively, on the night. Vieweg was named UBC’s player of the game for her efforts.

The Lancers out-rebounded the Thunderbirds 41-34 and shot 41.7 per cent from the field, compared to UBC’s 35. From long range, the Lancers were deadly at 42.9 per cent, while UBC made just one of its 11 three-point shots on the night.

GAME NOTES: Ottawa’s Jenna Gilbert and Calgary’s Jenna Kaye rounded out the all-tournament team... The championship will be held in Regina in 2013.

STAT LEADERS

Scoring by quarter:
WSR 20-15-16-18: 69
UBC 12-14-21-6: 53

Windsor
Points: Miah-Marie Langlois (17), Jessica Clemençon (16), Bojana Kovacevic (14)
Rebounds: Miah-Marie Langlois (10), Laura Mullins (7)
Assists: Miah-Marie Langlois (6)

Player of the game: Jessica Clemençon

UBC
Points: Kris Young (16), Zara Huntley (13), Alexandra Vieweg (11)
Rebounds: Kris Young (8), Leigh Stansfield (8)
Assists: Kris Young (3)

Player of the game: Alexandra Vieweg

CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS

Tournament MVP: Miah-Marie Langlois, Windsor

Tournament All-Stars:

Miah-Marie Langlois, Windsor
Bojana Kovacevic, Windsor
Kris Young, UBC
Jenna Gilbert, Ottawa
Jenna Kaye, Calgary

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times MOUNTAIN TIME)

Saturday, March 17
12:00 Quarter-final #1: UBC 65, McGill 43
14:00 Quarter-final #2: Ottawa 73, Saskatchewan 70 (OT)
17:00 Quarter-final #3: Windsor 94, Acadia 46
19:00 Quarter-final #4: Calgary 75, Regina 66

Sunday, March 18
12:00 Consolation #1: Saskatchewan 58, McGill 53
14:00 Consolation #2: Regina 87, Acadia 84
17:00 Semifinal #1: UBC 59, Ottawa 51
19:00 Semifinal #2: Windsor 81, Calgary 71

Monday, March 19
13:00 5th place: Regina 64, Saskatchewan 60
15:00 Bronze medal: Ottawa 79, Calgary 73
19:00 Championship final: Windsor 69, UBC 53

-CIS-