Ottawa,ON– Yesterday we took a look at the ranks 1-4 who will be hitting the court in Ottawa this coming week and weekend. Today we move onto the next part of the bracket, as we look at ranks 5-8.

#5 Alberta Pandas:

The Pandas head to nationals as CW runner-up after losing to Saskatchewan in Championship game.

The Pandas finished the regular season with a 16-4 record and at CW playoffs they were the fourth- seed, they beat Fraser Valley Cascades in quarterfinals and beat Calgary Dinos in semi-finals.

Offense: 70.4 pts/ game and 1,408 points.

Defense: 58.3/ pts allowed, opponents FG%: 33% (2nd in CW) and 20.3 turnovers/ game.

Interesting stat: The Pandas were third in CW for FG% with 42.4%.

Key player: Fifth-year guard, Vanessa Wild was named first-team all-star after she averaged 18.0 points/ game, 360 points. She also had 121 rebounds. She was third in shooting hitting 130/262 shots.

#6 UPEI Panthers:

The Panthers are heading to their first nationals since 1998 when they won the AUS Championship like this year.

The Panthers finished the regular season with 17-3 records and were the number- one seed at AUS tournament.

They beat the University of New Brunswick Reds in semi-finals and took down the 2x defending champions, Acadia Axe-Women in the AUS title game.

Offense: 72.8 points/ game and 1,455 points.

Defense: 62.8 points/ allowed (1st in AUS), opponent’s FG%: 35.9% (1st in AUS) and 13.3 turnovers/ game (1st in AUS).

Interesting stat: The Panthers finished second in rebounding after averaging 39.8 rebounds/ game.

They were first in defensive rebounds averaging 30.1 rbs/ game.

Key player: The Panthers are led by fourth-year guard, Jenna Mae- Ellsworth who won both AUS MVP and defensive player of the year.

She averaged 16.7 points/ game, 334 points along with 84 rebounds. She also had 30 steals, three blocks and 54 defensive rebounds.

#7 Calgary Dinos:

The Dinos received the at- large berth after losing to Alberta Pandas in CW semi-finals after entering the CW playoffs as a number- one seed.

The Dinos during the regular season had a record of 18-2 and hosted both CW quarterfinals and semi-finals. They beat the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves in quarterfinals and they were beaten by Pandas at home in semis, 80-78 in a nail-biter.

Offence: 73.8 points/ game & 1, 477 points.

Defense: 57.4 points/ allowed (2nd in CW),FG%: 36.4% and 15.8 turnovers/ game.

Interesting stat: They led the conference in 3PT made averaging 8.2/ game from downtown.

Key player: Third- Year guard, Liene Stalidzane was named second-team CW all-star after averaging 14.8 points/ game,296 points.

She also had 83 rebounds,41 steals and 59 assists; lastly, she was fourth in 3PT hitting 46/120 from downtown.

#8 Carleton Ravens:

The Ravens enter nationals as the host team and last team at nationals to win a Bronze Baby, winning it in 2018. The Ravens were eliminated by Ottawa Gee-Gees in OUA quarterfinals. The Carleton Ravens in the regular season had a 15-7 record.

Offence: 68.1 and 1,498 points.

Defense: 57.9 points/ allowed (3rd in OUA),opponents FG %: 32.8% (3rd in OUA) and 15.7 turnovers/ game .

Interesting stat: The Ravens finished second in 3PT Pct. % with 32.9 %.

Key Player: Fifth-year forward, Alyssa Cerino was named a first-team all-star after she averaged 16.3 points/ game,326 points. She also had 150 rebounds, 45 assists and 18 blocks in her final OUA season. She was third in OUA for free- throws with 88.

These nationals have the potential to be memorable as there is no- clear favourite to hoist the bronze baby on Sunday night. If you live in Ottawa, you should attend at least one game and for that outside of Ottawa, CBC TV will be showing all of the games for the first time ever.

That is it for our previews of the U Sports Final 8 in women’s basketball. To watch the tournament you can tune into CBC Sports for free coverage. We also are happy to welcome you back to 49 Sports, as Casey Dulson will be covering the tournament in Ottawa