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McMillan, Gascoigne lead Huskies to AUS Championship with 68-56 win over Acadia
Posted: Feb 26, 2023

McMillan, Gascoigne lead Huskies to AUS Championship with 68-56 win over Acadia

Tickets Photos Box Score
Game Leaders
Saint Mary's
Pts: Alaina McMillan - 20
Reb: 2 Players (#08, #14) - 8
Ast: Clara Gascoigne - 6
Acadia
Pts: Elizabeth Iseyemi - 18
Reb: Elizabeth Iseyemi - 11
Ast: 2 Players (#02, #08) - 5
Team Stats
Full stats

HALIFAX, N.S. - After a 68-56 win in the AUS final, the Saint Mary's Huskies are AUS champions for the first time since 2015-16.

The Huskies (2nd seed) defeated the defending champions, the Acadia Axewomen (1st seed), to win the 2023 Subway AUS Women's Basketball Championship. It's the sixth banner in the school's history and first since a run of four straight from 2013-16. 

Once again, it was tournament MVP Alaina McMillan (Brantford, Ont.) leading the charge for Saint Mary's with 20 points, including four three-pointers and a perfect six-for-six from the foul line. 

McMillan helped the Huskies take control early in the first quarter, hitting a three-pointer in the opening minute as the Huskies opened up a quick 5-2 lead.

McMillan continued her strong play in the opening frame, scoring five straight points to help the Huskies jump out to a 19-12 lead. 

A three-ball from reserve guard Courtney Donaldson (Kelowna, BC) was the Huskies fourth triple of the opening quarter, and they took a 22-14 lead into the first intermission, led by 10 points from McMillan.

Both the SMU and Acadia fans seated behind the nets had lots to cheer about in the opening half, with flashy three-point baskets and back-and-forth action on championship Sunday at the Scotiabank Centre.

AUS rookie of the year Bianca Helmig (Speyer, Germany) gave Acadia a spark to start the second quarter, with a three-pointer, steal and a pair of successful free throws.

Acadia's Subway player of the game Lizzie Iseyemi (Dartmouth, N.S.) proved tough to handle late in the half, drawing fouls and making five of six free throws in the last five minutes as Acadia made it a one-possession game. 

The Huskies went to the dressing room with a 33-31 lead after half. Iseyemi led the way for Acadia with five rebounds and nine points while it was McMillan leading the way for the Hsukies with 13 points, including shooting three-for-four from beyond the arc. 

Mirroring the first half, both teams came out strong again, with Saint Mary's second team all-star Sophia Widmeyer (Dartmouth, N.S.) sinking a three before a three from Sandy Saunders (Woodstock, N.B.) started a seven-point run to give Acadia a lead. 

Defending the Huskies basket, Aki Kobayashi (Halifax, N.S.)  managed to draw a foul while also getting a standing ovation from the SMU bench and fans. Her teammates responded, with back-to-back three pointers by Courtney Donaldson (Kelowna, B.C) and Sarah Forgie (New Westminster, B.C.) to take a lead. The Huskies entered the final quarter ahead 49-44. 

The Huskies came out on fire in the fourth quarter, going on a quick 10-2 run powered by five straight points from Widmeyer, followed up by a two from Gascoigne and a three by McMillan to extend their lead to 59-46.

A three-pointer and jump shot from Widmeyer (Dartmouth, N.S.) was part of three unanswered baskets from the Huskies

A pair of layups from Iseyimi cut the lead down to 61-56 with just under two minutes left, but Courtney Donaldson responded with a dagger three-pointer to restore the lead to eight, and McMillan iced the game with four straight free-throws to clinch the Huskies first championship since 2016.

"I think the key was the same thing all tournament, discipline and understanding that Acadia is a great team, they are going to make their shots, and we're going to have lulls, but if we just stay confident in what we have to do, know what we had to execute on defence and take the opportunities on offence and drain those shots," said McMillan post-game.

Huskies guard Clara Gascoigne (Dartmouth, N.S.) was named Subway Player of the Game, showing why she was the regular season defensive player of the year with a strong performance on both sides of the ball with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while limiting Acadia's most dangerous players.

"I'm just so happy that we won," said Gascoigne post-game. "We know we can score, we have so many players that can score on our team, but it just came down to defence, we just had to dig in and get stops, and I think we did pretty well."

Courtney Donaldson added 12 points on 4/7 shooting from behind the arc, while Sophia Widmeyer chipped in 10 points and six rebounds for the Huskies.

Saint Mary's teammates Clara Gascoigne and Alaina McMillan were both named to the tournament all-star team. Acadia's Haley McDonald (Port Williams, N.S.), Aiden Rainford (Toronto, Ont.) of the UPEI Panthers and Jayda Venoit of the UNB REDS were also named to the all-star team.

"It feels amazing," said McMillan. "Knowing that there are young girls looking up to us, and just giving it our all, showing that we're confident in ourselves and our abilities, so they can be confident in themselves as well."

The Huskies will now represent the AUS at U SPORTS Nationals, being held March 9-12 in Sydney, Cape Breton.

"Coming in since my first year, it's been a big turnaround," said McMillan post-game. "We've progressed every year, gotten better and believed in ourselves, and going into nationals its the same thing, just believe in ourselves and see how far we can go."

"We've grown so much, we're all like best friends, and I think that really helps with our chemistry," said Gascoigne post-game. "I'm so excited that our season isn't over today and we get to experience nationals together!"

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Athletics with files from  Jonathan Briggins for Atlantic University Sport