Athletes of the week
François Bourque
Bourque, a 6’6” sophomore from Terrebonne, Quebec, was once again instrumental for the Redmen as an interior presence in their two games against the UQAM Citadins over the weekend, averaging 15.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. Bourque was efficient from the field as well, shooting a shade under 50 per cent. A now two-time Tribune Athlete-of-the-Week, Bourque has made enormous strides in his second season with the Redmen and has a promising career ahead of him.
Gabrielle Davidson
Following a breakout sophomore season, Davidson has shown further dominance of the RSEQ. In her junior year, she has tallied 15 goals in just 16 games so far, notching a hat trick in a weekend rout of the Carleton Ravens. Although she was held scoreless in Friday’s contest against the Montreal Carabins, Davidson has been a force on the wing for the Martlets this season. The native of Pointe-Claire, Quebec is currently fourth in the CIS in points and fifth in goals, and will surely be vying for post-season honours if the Martlets are able to repeat their successes from last year.
Beyond the box score
Redmen Hockey
The Redmen (19-5-0) remain in sole possession of first place in the OUA East standings, beating the UOIT Ridgebacks 4-1 on Saturday to stay ahead of Carleton and UQTR. Senior centre Marc-Olivier Vachon was the star for McGill, scoring two goals on five shots. McGill never trailed in the game, finishing with a commanding 51-31 edge in shots. Additionally, second-year goalie Jacob Gervais-Chouinard came six seconds away from adding yet another shutout to his impressive resume. Gervais-Chouinard now leads all CIS goalies with a .946 save percentage, and is tied for first with a goals against average of 1.67. Last week’s Tribune Athlete-of-the-Week Samuel Labrecque stayed red-hot, tallying a goal in the contest for his 10th of the season. He leads all CIS defencemen in points with 20. With two games left before the end of the regular season, the Redmen are looking poised to make a deep run in the playoffs. They will face Concordia in the annual Corey Cup next Friday at 7:30 p.m at Ed Meagher Arena.
Martlet Basketball
After being handed their first loss of the season by the second-place UQÀM Citadins (7-3) on Thursday night, the Martlets (9-1) came into Saturday’s rematch looking to set the record straight and maintain their hold on first place in the RSEQ standings. In a defensive showdown that came right down to the wire, Alex Kiss-Rusk drained a buzzer-beating jumper from the elbow to win it 57-55 for McGill. Kiss-Rusk, the team’s starting centre, led the Martlets with 15 points on 58 per cent shooting. She filled out the rest of the box score with nine rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Down 27-22 at halftime, the Martlets went on a run in the third quarter led by Kiss-Rusk and sophomore forward Jenn Silver to retake the lead heading into the fourth. After committing seven turnovers through the first three quarters, starting point guard Diana Ros settled down in the final frame, distributing the ball to Kiss-Rusk, Silver, and Mariam Sylla in the paint. Ros finished with five points, six assists, and two steals. The Martlets will meet the Citadins once more before the regular season ends, in what should be a tantalizing matchup of conference titans. They host Concordia next Thursday at 6 p.m. in Love Competition Hall.
Redmen Basketball
The last-place UQÀM Citadins (2-7) had the RSEQ-leading Redmen (7-2) basketball squad sweating this past weekend, splitting a two game series to register their first win against McGill in their past eight tries. After going up 66-40 after three quarters on Thursday at home, the Redmen lost their focus, weathering a 25-15 run by UQÀM in the final frame to escape with a 71-65 win. Sophomore forward François Bourque was phenomenal for the Redmen once again, recording his league-leading fourth double-double on 13 points and 14 boards. Freshmen Jeremie Cassavant-Dubois and Noah Daoust were pleasant surprises for the Redmen off the bench, each contributing double figures. Despite getting the win, the Redmen looked shaky all game, shooting just 20 per cent from beyond the arc and turning the ball over 21 times.
The shooting woes, which have plagued McGill all season, continued in the second game of the series on Saturday night. After leading 33-27 at halftime, the Redmen crumbled down the stretch, falling to the Citadins 65-59 to break their six game winning streak. Despite another double-double from Bourque, who posted a game-high 18 points in the contest, McGill’s shooters couldn’t find the bottom of the net all night, shooting 35 per cent from the floor, 29 per cent from three, and 56 per cent from the charity stripe. Even the Redmen can’t expect to stroll to a win against a cellar-dweller while giving away points at the line. It wasn’t all bad news though: Captain Vincent Dufort came back from an undisclosed illness looking healthy and in form, scoring 10 points in his usual starting role. With six games left in the season, the Redmen have a comfortable two-game lead on second-place Laval, but certainly can’t afford to be losing games against UQÀM down the stretch. They face Concordia next Thursday at 8 p.m. in Love Competition Hall.
By the numbers
3 – Number of games in which Martlet hockey forward Gabrielle Davidson has been held pointless this season, the third of which came this past Friday in McGill’s 5-0 loss to Montreal.
4.4 – Average margin by which the Redmen hockey team has outshot its opponents this season, scoring on just over 10 per cent of those shots.
9.6 – Average number of rebounds that sophomore Redmen forward François Bourque pulls down per game, good enough to make Bourque the RSEQ leader in that category.
1435 – Total number of days it had been since the Martlet basketball last went into double-overtime prior to this past Thursday’s loss to UQÀM.
