CIS Women’s Hockey/Basketball

For the third straight season and for the fourth time in five years, the reigning national champion University of Windsor Lancers are headed into the ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS women’s Basketball Championship as favourites.

The seeding was announced for the Final 8, hosted by Laval University in Quebec City and the eight-team tournament begins Thursday and wraps up Sunday at 1 p.m.

The OUA champion Lancers have there sights set on a fifth straight record-tying CIS title and the contenders are the second-seeded UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West champs).

The Lancers were the choice for the No. 1 seed as they topped all 13 national weekly polls this season and posted a CIS (best) 19-1 mark in league play.

As well they added three straight wins in the OUA playoffs, including a convincing 71-51 victory over Ryerson in the conference final.

Windsor would equal the five consecutive Bronze Baby titles captured by Laurentian from 1975 to 1979.

For the second year in a row, Alberta received the wildcard berth following a vote by a committee of CIS coaches.

The Pandas claimed Canada West Bronze following an impressive 16-4 in conference play was ranked in the top six teams in the country all season.

With such an impressive record they managed to reach the top three in eight of 13 coaches’ polls.

UBC is the most decorated team with six (6) Bronze Baby victories followed by Windsor (4) and Alberta (1).

Hockey

For the first time since 2011, the defending national champion McGill University Martlets have been established tournament favourites heading into the CIS women’s hockey championship in Calgary.

The seeding was announced on Monday for the national tournament hosted by the University of Calgary at the Markin MacPhail Centre. The competition, using a new eight-team format this year starts Thursday March 12th.

The quarter-final matchups, split over two days, include Guelph vs. StFX Thursday at 3 p.m. MT, host Calgary vs. McGill Thursday at 7 p.m., Moncton vs. Western Friday at 3 p.m., as well as Montreal vs. Alberta Friday at 7 p.m.

The Martlets earned No. 1 status after they edged Montreal in three games (best-of-three) RSEQ championship series.

The two Quebec powerhouses, who faced off in last year’s national final, were ranked 1-2 in the country all season, with both teams topping eight of 16 weekly coaches’ polls.

Alberta is the most decorated program at the 2015 tournament with seven CIS titles, while McGill ranks second all-time with four triumphs. Montreal and Calgary have both hoisted the coveted trophy once.