Gage Grassick delivered a commanding performance and the Saskatchewan Huskies controlled the game from start to finish Thursday night, defeating the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 71-55 in the quarterfinal round of the U SPORTS women’s Final 8 at Amphithéâtre Desjardins in Québec City.
Grassick, the Canada West player of the year, scored a game-high 25 points and added three steals as the fifth-seeded Huskies advanced to the national semifinals. Saskatchewan led for all 40 minutes and leaned on its defence and interior play to keep the fourth-seeded Thunderbirds from mounting a sustained comeback.
Fifth-year Ella Murphy-Wiebe was electric, scoring 16 points and eight rebounds, and shooting 54 percent from the field. Fellow Huskies fifth-year Andrea Dodig contributed 11 points and a team-high nine boards in a matchup where UBC held a slight edge on the glass. Maya Flindall also finished in double figures with 11 points.
Saskatchewan established control early. The Huskies opened the game on a 9-2 run and built a 19-11 lead after the first quarter while holding UBC to five field goals.
UBC responded briefly in the second. A three-pointer from Cerys Merton and a layup by Sofia Bergman trimmed the deficit to five points early in the quarter, and Sara Toneguzzi scored five quick points late in the half to keep the Thunderbirds within reach.
But Grassick answered with a three-pointer at the buzzer, restoring an eight-point Saskatchewan lead at halftime.
Toneguzzi continued her strong afternoon in the third quarter, hitting two more three-pointers to again cut the margin to five. Murphy-Wiebe responded for Saskatchewan, owning her matchups in the paint, and pushing the advantage back to double digits heading into the final frame.
Leading 51-40 entering the fourth, the Huskies steadily pulled away. Grassick capped the run with a three-pointer midway through the quarter that stretched Saskatchewan’s lead to 20 points, its largest of the night.
Toneguzzi led UBC with a career-high 21 points, knocking down five three-pointers on 8-of-15 shooting. Olivia Weekes added 10 points but was limited by foul trouble.
Saskatchewan’s frontcourt proved decisive, outscoring UBC 40-18 in the paint while holding the Thunderbirds to 33.9 per cent shooting from the field.
The Huskies, appearing in their 18th national championship tournament and the defending champions after winning the 2025 title, advance to Saturday’s semifinal where they will face host Laval, who pulled off the upset top-seeded TMU on Thursday night.
UBC, making its 13th Final 8 appearance and returning to the tournament for the second straight year, moves to the consolation bracket and will play Friday for a chance to reach the fifth-place game.