Queen's Gaels, Carleton Ravens to battle for women's basketball national title

Laura Donovan scored a game-high 21 points to lead the third-seeded Queen's Gaels to a 72-62 win over the second-seeded Alberta Pandas in the first semifinal of the 2023 U Sports women's Final 8 on Saturday in Sydney, N.S.

Donovan made six of 10 three-pointers en route to leading the Gaels to the championship game.

And in the second semifinal, Kali Pocrnic scored a game-high 17 points to lead the top-seeded Carleton Ravens to a 65-46 win over the No. 4-ranked Saint Mary's Huskies.

Pocrnic shot six-for-15 from the field and played a game-high 35 minutes while leading the Ravens to the championship final.

The Pandas came out strong early, drawing first blood and not looking back. They jumped out to an 11-2 lead, but a timeout and reset for Queen's composed the Gaels and turned the game around.

Queen's tied the game at 13 before Alberta hit a free throw to take a 14-13 lead after the first. The second quarter featured more turnovers, as the two teams combined for 15 in the opening 20 minutes. A 53 per cent shooting performance for the Pandas in the first half gave them a 34-30 lead at the break.