VANCOUVER - Trailing by as many as 17 in the third quarter, the Pandas mounted a ferocious comeback against the top-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies. Despite late shots from Annacy Palmer, the Pandas suffered a 67-58 loss in the U SPORTS Quarter-Final on Thursday night. 

Palmer led the Pandas with 17, 12 of which came during the Pandas fourth quarter comeback. Alberta cut the lead down to as few as five with under two minutes left, but were unable to get over the hump and take the lead. 

Alberta will now play the No. 4 seed SMU Huskies in the consolation semifinal tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. PT, while Saskatchewan will advance to play the host UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday night in the semifinal. 

Friday night will mark the third-straight U SPORTS Championship meeting for the Pandas and Huskies, with Alberta winning the 2023 bronze medal game in Cape Breton, while the Huskeis earned a consolation semifinal win over the Pandas in Edmonton last March. 

Kiah Easton-Ihediohanma added 14 for Alberta off the bench, to go along with 12 from Jayden Tanner. Tea DeMong led the Huskies with 19, while U SPORTS Player of the Year Gage Grassick added 15 and 10 rebounds. 

The Pandas put themselves in a hole early, falling behind 20-6 after the first quarter. Alberta finished the game making just 26% of their shots, going 2/17 (11.8%) in the first quarter. 

Alberta outscored Saskatchewan 52-47 over the final three quarters, but were never able to fully erase the Huskies lead. The Huskies never led by more than 17, while the Pandas couldn't trim the lead to less than five. 

Easton-Ihediohanma scored eight of her 14 in the second quarter, while Palmer was the spark late. 

Grassick had six points and five steals in the fourth quarter to ice the win for Saskatchewan.