Back-to-back: Huskies women’s basketball team repeats for gold at U Sports nationals

Championship material is baked into the DNA of the University of Huskies women’s basketball team and on Sunday they proved why.

For the second year in a row, the Huskies are national champions defeating the University of New Brunswick Reds 77-68 to defend their U Sports reign and bring the ‘Bronze Baby’ back to Saskatoon.

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The Huskies overcame a rough third quarter in a game which looked to be headed down to the wire, to explode for 25 points in the fourth quarter and secure glory in Quebec City, Que.

Sunday’s victory is the Huskies’ fourth national title in program history, reaching immortality along with the 2016, 2020 and 2025 teams. The Huskies also became just the 10th team in U Sports women’s basketball history to repeat their national championship.

It’s a golden final chapter for Huskies star guard Gage Grassick who finished her last game in a Saskatchewan uniform with 16 points, leaving as one of the program’s most decorated athletes.

Fellow graduates Téa DeMong, Ella Murphy Wiebe and Anna Maelde all leave as two-time national champions with Grassick, while Andrea Dodig enters rarified territory as a three-time U Sports champion playing on the 2020 team as a rookie.

Saskatchewan raced out to a 7-2 lead to open the game and ended the first quarter with a commanding 25-13 lead.

Coming out of halftime ahead 44-32 thanks to 16 points from guard Logan Reider, the Huskies struggled to hit shots in the third quarter while New Brunswick went on a 13-0 run out of the break to eventually take a 45-44 lead.

Murphy Wiebe finally stopped the bleeding with a layup with 2:42 left on the clock, as Saskatchewan took a slim 52-50 lead into the fourth quarter.

Three-pointers from Grassick, Reider and Maya Flindall over the fourth quarter was enough for the Huskies to stretch their lead comfortably and cruise to the gold medal victory.

Murphy Wiebe was named U Sports women’s basketball championship MVP after posting 13 points and 10 rebounds in the gold medal game, just 24 hours after leading the Huskies with a 26-point and 16-rebound effort in the semi-finals against Laval.

Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis also added to her resume as one of the most decorated coaches in Canadian university sports, winning her fourth national championship in a decade and coaching the Huskies to a 24-1 season record in 2025-26.

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The Huskies now rank as the sixth-winningest program at the U Sports women’s basketball championships with four titles trailing only the Victoria Vikes, Laurentian Lady Vees, UBC Thunderbirds, Windsor Lancers and Simon Fraser Clan.