W-BASKETBALL WEEKEND ROUNDUP: No. 8 McMaster slips by Toronto in Shoot for the Cure game
The women's basketball team put the pressure on early and would not relent, coming away with a 92-47 win over the Waterloo Warriors.
Friday, January 30
With the win, the Lancers are 12-1 on the season and continue to remain deadlocked with the Laurier Golden Hawks for first place in the OUA west division. The Gaels fall to 8-5 on the year and are in second place in the OUA east division.
Korissa Williams once again led the Blue & Gold with a team high 20-points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists. Fellow fifth year Jocelyn LaRocque contributed 18 points in the win, Andrea Kiss was right behind her with 17, and Courtney VandeBovencamp came off the bench with 12.
Queen's was led by Jenny Wright with a game high 21 points, followed by Liz Boag with 17, and Andrea Priamo with 14-points. Defensively, the visitors were led by Emily Hazlett and Priamo with 8 rebounds apiece.
Windsor shot an impressive 52.5% from the field while the Gaels shot 47.1%. Defensively the game was tied with each team coming up with 38 rebounds each.
With new confidence in their team after defeating the Nipissing Lakers on Sunday, the Algoma Thunderbirds women's team took to the court looking to continue their winning streak. Both teams exchanged buckets early in the first. Ottawa applied a full-court press forcing Algoma to turn over the ball allowing the Gee-Gees to pull ahead. Algoma struggled to penetrate Ottawa's zone defence but managed to hold Ottawa to only a 3-point lead, 14-11. The Gee-Gees went cold late in the first and Algoma controlled the pace allowing the Thunderbirds to pull ahead 18-14 going into the second. Ottawa recovered the lead after two key steals in the second, forcing Algoma to take a timeout. Algoma went cold and the Gee-Gees went on a 15-point run. Algoma was unable to get on the boards until the final seconds when Alyssa Dovigi scored a runaway lay-up, keeping the Gee-Gees to a 9-point lead, 29-20. Ottawa's momentum continued in the second half, out-rebounding and outscoring Algoma, to run away with a 77-36 win.
It's the second straight win for the team, who competed in front of a boisterous Mustang Days home crowd. The Mustangs now improve to 5-9 on the season to hold on to third place in the OUA West Division. York, meanwhile, falls to 2-12 for the last spot in the OUA East.
Victoria Heine broke out offensively by putting up a career-high 21 points. Her dominant and assertive presence in the offensive zones gave her five trips to the foul line which converted into seven good free throw baskets. This dominance was coupled with seven field goals made at an 88% shooting percentage.
"I think that's a testament to type of player she is and all that hard work she's been putting in," Head Coach Brian Chengsaid of Heine. "It's starting to pay off."
Heine's efforts were helped by Maddy Horst who tallied 16 points and led the team with six rebounds. Mackenzie Puklicz followed closely with 15 points, her seventh game in a row reaching double digits to now average 12.9 points per game.
The Lions came out fast and hard to start the game, converting points on their first two possessions. The pace of the game slowed down when Horst conjured up a spin move off her defender for a clean –looking jumper. York would remain tight against the Mustangs thanks to York's Isanaa Seupersadsin, who quickly ran the ball down the court to Taylor Ross for a layup to give the Lions a slight 15-14 edge over the Mustangs at the buzzer.
Into the second quarter, the Mustangs livened up in the offensive zone, exchanging hands quickly around the edges to keep the Lions on their toes defensively. Though it would be remiss to not mention the purple and white defence forcing five turnovers to help Heine, Horst, and Puklicz put together a 14-2 run that helped take a 32-25 lead into halftime.
York amassed their foul limit by the middle of the third quarter, which worked mostly in the favour of the Mustangs who drew seven personal fouls total, and picked up nine points on free throws. The Mustangs kept a healthy lead against the Lions throughout the quarter, despite losing Puklicz for considerable time as she took a hard foul from York's Hayley Finn.
In the fourth, Heine continued to make herself available in the post for easy layups, helping her accrue the six points that pushed her in the 20-point territory. A strong output from the bench maintained the Lions deficit for the eventual 69-54 victory.
While he says the win has created a positive buzz for his squad, Coach Cheng remains humble and is keeping his team focused on what lies ahead.
"We can't rest on our laurels and we can't wallow in defeat. That's resolve. And that's the principles of who we are. We enjoy our wins, but we also move on to the next one."
Saturday, January 31
McMaster 72 @ Toronto 70
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team dropped a narrow 72-70 decision to the No. 8 nationally ranked McMaster Marauders in their annual Think Pink game on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 31) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
With the loss, the Blues drop to 7-6 but remain in third place in the OUA East division, while the No. 8 Marauders improve to 11-4 and are atop the Central division.
Fifth-year guard Jill Stratton led the Blues with 16 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and six assists, while sophomore Rahshida Atkinson had 14 points and Emily Piccini added 10 points and seven boards on the day.
Abena Addo notched eight points, with Julie Longauer, Maddy Baker and Liane Bailey each adding seven points in the loss.
With the Blues leading by 10 heading into the fourth quarter, the Marauders slowly crept back into the game. Danielle Boiago brought the game within four points with three minutes remaining and a last-second three from Rachael Holmes sealed the McMaster comeback, 72-70.
Both teams traded baskets to start the game, but McMaster's Clare Kenney notched eight early points to give the Marauders an early 10-4 advantage. Toronto rallied with a couple of three's from Bailey and Atkinson, but Kenney kept rolling with a 15-point first quarter as McMaster carried a 23-16 lead into the second quarter.
Toronto had a monster second quarter, led by 10 points from Piccini, and held McMaster to only five points. The Blues took a 40-28 lead at halftime.
U of T kept rolling to start the second half and, thanks to a 10-point third frame from Stratton, carried a 10-point lead (57-47) into the fourth quarter.
Kenney led all players with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. Bioago added 17 points, with Holmes notching 16 in the victory.
The Varsity Blues return to the court next Friday, February 6 as they host the Lakehead Thunderwolves at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport. Tip off is set for 6 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Varsity Blues Think Pink champions Dylan Churchill and Samia Islam dedicated their donations to today's game. Samia cut her hair at halftime, while Dylan raised over $500 in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. The Junior Blues Gymnastics Club also presented the Blues with a cheque for over $600 in support of the cause, following a halftime performance.
Brock 57 @ Guelph 59
Saturday afternoon at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre, the Gryphons women's basketball team defeated the Brock Badgers 59-57 in the "Shoot for the Cure" game, a CIS-wide initiative dedicated to raising funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Kate MacTavish led the Gryphons with 23 points and 12 rebounds. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 7-6 while the Brock Badgers fall to 5-9.
The Gryphons would come out flying in the first quarter lead by their post players Vanessa Rampado (Niagara Falls, ON) and Katherine MacTavish (Waterloo, ON). Rampado would be earn an "and-one" opportunity and would convert to put the Gryphons up 14-6. The Gryphons were very active rebounding, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Guelph would get multiple chances to score each trip during the court. The Gryphons led 20-15 at the end of the quarter.
Early in the second quarter a jump ball play would see Brock's Katie Harpur (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON) hit her head hard on the floor, which would stop play for several minutes as she was given medical attention. A groggy Harpur was eventual able to walk off the court with some assistance. When play resumed, the Gryphons continued to dominate on the glass. MacTavish led the way with 12 points in the opening half as the Gryphons took a 33-23 lead into the locker room.
MacTavish would hit her double double mark for the second game in a row before the fourth quarter was even played with 21 points and 10 rebounds through three quarters. The Gryphons would outscore the Badgers 21-15 in the quarter to take a 54-38 lead going into the final frame.
The final quarter would be one for the Gryphons to forget, as it would take them six minutes to get their first points of the frame. They would also allow the Badgers to climb all the way back into the game. Credit to the Badgers as their defensive play and rebounding improved drastically, only allowing Guelph five points in the whole quarter. In the end, the Gryphons dominance on the boards would prove to be the difference. With under 10 seconds remaining in a two point game, the Gryphons missed a pair of free throws but grabbed a huge offensive rebound thanks to the hard play of Rampado. Brock had one last chance to win it, but the three point from half court as the final buzzer sounded was no good as the Gryphons would hold on to win it 59-57. The Gryphons outrebounded the Badgers 47-29.
With a good crowd on hand, many of whom were clad in pink in support of "Shoot the Cure" went home happy. Guelph's next game is against Ryerson on February 4th as the Gryphons travel to Toronto to start a four game road trip with stops in Ryerson, Toronto, Brock and McMaster.
York 43 @ Windsor 82
The No. 1 ranked Lancer women's basketball team dominated the visiting York Lions on Saturday night as part of the Lancers' Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
Windsor comfortably defeated the Lions 82-43 to improve to 13-1 on the season, while the Lions fall to 2-13.
The Lancers used two standout quarters at the beginning of each half to earn the victory. While their offense was on fire, they defense also did a solid job keeping the Lions to single digits in the first and third frames.
The Lions didn't give up however and managed to re-group in the second and final frames to force the Lancers hand.
Windsor was led by a balanced attacked from Cheyanne Roger with 14 points, Kristine Lalonde with 13, Caitlyn Longmuir with 12, and Korissa Williams with 11. Defensively, Emily Prevost led both teams with a game high nine rebounds.
For the visitors, Courtney Osborne led the Lions with 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Ishanaa Seupersadsin also hit double digits with 10.
Queen's 86 @ Western 72
In a battle of youth versus experience, it was experience that won as the Western Mustangs women's basketball team's push against the Queen's Golden Gaels came up just short in a 86-72 loss Saturday at Alumni Hall.
With the loss, the Mustangs finish a five-game home stand with a 3-2 record. Overall, they're 5-10 on the season and sit in third place in the OUA West Division. The Golden Gaels improve to 9-4, still behind Ryerson in the OUA East.
It was another night of high offensive production for the Stangs, with three of their starters putting up double digits in points. Maddy Horstled the way with a season and career-best 23 points as she shot perfect from the free throw line and 56% from the field. For the third time on the home stand, Caroline Wolynski shot into the 20-point bracket, amassing 21 on 9 rebounds.Victoria Heine chipped in with 18 points and 8 rebounds to amass a total of 39 points over her last two games.
According to head coach Brian Cheng, the team has started to coalesce and find their identity after a starting the season in a prolonged storming session.
"We're starting to know who we are. [The team] has some security. They're not looking behind their back anymore. They're not looking over their shoulder, and I think that's helped build stability," Cheng said.
The Gaels were able to stunt the Mustang offence early on by executing a series of press attacks, making it difficult to set up a play. When the press was ineffective, Queen's guard Emily Hazlett made herself a nuisance in the lanes by intercepting passes that converted for good Gaels points. At the end of one quarter, the Gaels had nearly doubled up on the Mustangs, 24-13.
Coach Cheng credits a solid veteran Queen's team, but also knows that his team walks away from the loss learning the importance of resilience.
"We just chipped, we chipped," Cheng said post-game. "Can we be more effective in what we're doing technically in terms of our defence? Well, yes. But what we saw today was a good, experienced team beating a good young team."
Laurier 59 @ Lakehead 73
Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves
Carleton 80 @ Algoma 34
In the women's action, the Ravens jumped out to an early lead, 13-3. The Thunderbirds struggled to get a good look on net and penetrate the paint. Unable to get into a rhythm, the Thunderbirds trailed 20-7 going into the second. The Ravens dominated the boards limiting Algoma's scoring opportunities. Algoma's Sydney Resch chipped into the deficit, but the Thunderbirds still trailed 37-15 going into the second half. With a short bench, Algoma tired in the second half. Unable to keep pace with the Ravens, Algoma fell 80-34.
The Ravens improved to 8-7 in the OUA North and Algoma fell to 1-13. Raven Natasha Plaskacz earned 21 points for the Thunderbirds. Algoma's Laura Meadows earned 16.
Other Scores
Nipissing 46 @ Laurentian 63
