The host Queen's Gaels will open their 2022 U SPORTS Women's Final 8 Basketball Championship bid against the No. 2 nationally ranked Saskatchewan Huskies on March 31 at the ARC. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. 

The Gaels played to a 9-5 regular season record and held opponents to an average of 60.7 points per game, the 10th best mark in Canada, while averaging 71.6 points per game on the offensive end of the floor on a field goal percentage of 40.2 percent. The program ranked among the U SPORTS Top 10 in four of seven weeks this season before eventually coming up short in the OUA East Semifinal against the No. 1 Ryerson Rams. 

Queen's will be led into the tournament by OUA East First Team All-Star Julia Chadwick (Ottawa), who finished sixth in the OUA in scoring with 15.6 points per game and third in the OUA in rebounding with 9.9 rebounds per game. Chadwick also averaged 1.5 blocks per game and 1.6 steals per game this season. 

Sophie de Goede (Victoria), who captured an U SPORTS National Championship earlier this season as a member of the Gaels Women's Rugby program while earning Tournament MVP honours, was named an OUA East Second Team All-Star after leading the OUA in rebounding, averaging 12.1 per game while adding 9.8 points per game. She also averaged 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game for the Gaels this season.

Tournament passes and single-game tickets are available for purchase at www.gogaelsgo.com/tickets.