EDMONTON - Claire Signatovich finished her Pandas regular season career in style, scoring 15 points and added six rebounds as the Alberta Pandas knocked off the MacEwan Griffins 79-29 Saturday evening at the Saville Centre.

It was the regular season finale for both sides, with the Pandas clinching second place in the Prairie Division and thus hosting the Play-In/Quarterfinal mini-tournament coming next week, playing as the overall Canada West 3-seed. They will play the winner of the Victoria Vikes (6-seed) and the Lethbridge Pronghorns (11-seed), on their quest for their second CW title in program history. They won their first championship just two years ago in the 2022-23 CW playoffs, beating the Calgary Dinos 76-65 in the title game.

Signatovich added two assists, three steals, and two blocks in a classic line for the fifth-year veteran, who finished her lauded career with two consecutive conference and national Defensive Player of the Year nods, to go with a conference championship.

Annacy Palmer joined her with 15 points, while Reece Hall had 14 points. Unity Obasuyi had a team-high 11 points for the Griffins, who finished their season at 2-18.

It was on from the start, as the Pandas outscored the Griffins 25-10 in the first quarter with some extraordinary rebounding and defence. They outrebounded MacEwan 15-8, and forced eight turnovers to MacEwans two in what was an impressive effort on the defensive side of the ball in the frame. The Pandas Annacy Palmer was on fire from deep, hitting all three triples she attempted for a quarter-high nine points. The second was more of the same, as Alberta continued to ratchet up the defensive intensity en route to a 42-21 halftime lead. Unity Obasuyi scored all 11 second quarter points for the Griffins as she was seemingly the only answer to a stout Pandas defence, and she led all scorers with Claire Signatovich with 11 at the break.

The final two quarters were as dominant a half the Pandas have played all year, as they outscored the Griffins 37-8 en route to the 76-28 victory. MacEwan shot just 2-for-16 from the field, and turned the ball over 21 times in the second half as the Pandas defence wildly impressed. Ella Rees paced the Pandas scorers with eight points in the second half.