After winning the Critelli Cup OUA championship Saturday night, the Brock Badgers women’s basketball team have taken another step forward in their remarkable season.

The Badgers will enter the 2020 U SPORTS Final 8 Basketball Championship in Ottawa this week as the No. 2 seed, the highest the Badgers women have ever been ranked in their four championship berths. Only the Saskatchewan Huskies of Canada West sit higher than Brock heading into the tournament.

The rankings came out Sunday, March 1, a day after the Badgers upset the Ryerson Rams in their own building to win the OUA title for the first time since 1983.

Dozens of Brock Badgers fans packed the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto to watch the women’s basketball team take on Ryerson.

“The ultimate goal is a national championship, but we still have a big game coming up to make the Final Four,” said guard Melissa Tatti following her team’s victory over the Rams. “We want to play for a medal. We’ve got to get back to practice and we’ve got to get going.”

While Saturday’s OUA final was technically a road game, Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre could have been mistaken for Brock’s home gym with dozens of boisterous fans making the trip from Niagara.

Among the visiting fans was Chris Critelli, the former Brock women’s basketball coach and longtime Assistant Athletic Director, who presented the Badgers with their gold medals and the Cup named in her honour after the win.

“Words can’t describe it,” she said. “I’m so overjoyed and happy for the team. I’m so proud that Brock has won the Critelli Cup. It’s so special to have a trophy named after you and then give it to a school you put your heart and soul into for 36 years.”

The Badgers will leave for Ottawa Tuesday morning and will open the U SPORTS Championship tournament with a quarter-final matchup against the No. 7 Calgary Dinos on Thursday, March 5 at 3 p.m.

If they win, the Badgers will advance to the championship semi-finals on Saturday, March 7 with the medal round set for Sunday, March 8. If they lose in the first round, they’ll play in the consolation semi-finals on Friday, March 6.

The Final 8 tournament will be livestreamed on CBCSports.ca, and the CBC Sports Gem app for iOS and Android devices.

The full championship schedule is available here