The Huskies celebrate their semifinal win over the Laval Rouge et Or at the U SPORTS Final 8 national championship. (Image Credit: Connor Jay)

By Ryan Flaherty

Murphy Wiebe Magnificent

Huskies punch championship ticket in defensive slugfest with Rouge et Or

Mar 7, 2026 | 10:16 PM

Nothing good comes easy and neither did the points but the Huskies women’s basketball team scored enough of them down the stretch to claim a 55-43 semifinal win over the Laval Rouge et Or at the U SPORTS Final 8 in Quebec City.

The matchup between the nation’s top two defensive teams delivered as advertised in a game that wasn’t necessarily pretty but featured the type of intensity and effort one would expect in a national semifinal, and the defending national champs did just enough to book a spot in the title game for a third straight year.

Ella Murphy Wiebe was the star for Saskatchewan, scoring a game-high 26 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, both career highs. Téa DeMong chipped in nine points and 11 boards, Maya Flindall added nine points and Andrea Dodig pulled down 10 rebounds as the Dogs dominated the glass, outrebounding the Rouge et Or 52-31.

“(Laval’s) defense was incredible. Ella opened up so strong and then they adjusted and took away our ball screen game and just seemed to be causing us fits. We couldn’t get anything easy for the longest time. Thankfully our defense was able to hold us and then Téa hit the dagger when we most needed it, so that was huge,” head coach Lisa Thomaidis said.

Murphy Wiebe was a one-woman wrecking crew in the opening quarter, scoring 12 of the Huskies’ 14 points, snagging five rebounds and capping the period with a layup to give Saskatchewan a two-point lead through ten minutes of play.

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Laval adjusted its defensive gameplan in the second quarter, holding the Dogs to a single point over the first five minutes of the period while scoring ten of their own to open up a seven-point advantage. But after a timeout the Huskies responded in kind, putting together a 10-0 run to close the half with a 25-22 lead.

After the Rouge et Or were limited to 11 shots from beyond the arc in the first half, the nation’s leader in three-point tries and makes came out of the room determined to fire from deep. Laval connected on three of seven attempts in the opening five minutes of the quarter as they grabbed a one-point lead. But once again the Huskies responded, closing the frame on a 6-2 run to regain their three-point cushion heading to the fourth.

A Brinly Holt three pushed the Rouge et Or back in front by one with just over six minutes to play but once again the Dogs had an answer as they reeled off seven straight points capped by a DeMong triple — the Huskies’ only three of the game — to move back in front by six. That provided enough breathing room as Saskatchewan’s stifling defense did the rest, holding Laval to just five points the rest of the way.

With the Rouge et Or forced to foul late, the Huskies made their free throws to pull away in the closing moments, securing their spot in the championship game with one of the grittier efforts they’ve produced in recent memory, headlined by Murphy Wiebe’s career night.

“I didn’t expect a career high but the game plan was to attack through me when I was open so I’m just really happy that my teammates, all the guards, were feeding me the ball and trusting me with that,” Murphy Wiebe said.

“She was fantastic at the offensive end but what she did at the defensive end was probably as impactful. To be able to switch her onto a guard when they were iso-ing and in the ball screen, for her to get down and defend and just challenge at the rim and not foul, that’s so hard. You have to be such an amazing athlete to do that,” Thomaidis said.

The Huskies will now defend their national title against the University of New Brunswick Reds, who defeated the Calgary Dinos 70-66 in Saturday’s other semifinal. It will be just the second ever meeting at the national championship between the two programs, with the first coming in the 2006 quarterfinals.

“Our team is just a gritty team and that’s what it’s gonna take (to win). All of us on the boards, all of us communicating and just taking care of the little details,” Murphy Wiebe said.

The championship game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. Saskatchewan time on Sunday, and can be heard on the free HuskieFAN app.