OUA Women's Basketball Final Four Playoffs continue Saturday on OUA.tv

HAMILTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is pleased to announce the release of the 2015 basketball postseason schedule, presented by Investors Group.

The road to the OUA Women's Basketball Final Four Championship, begins on Wednesday, Feb. 25 with four first-round matchups.

The top three teams from each OUA division have all qualified for the postseason. All 12 qualifying teams, regardless of division position, were ranked based on RPI (Rating Percentage Index) to determine the playoff bracket. The top four teams based on these rankings have been awarded byes through the first round of the playoffs.

(5) Lakehead Thunderwolves (14-5) vs. (12) Western Mustangs (7-13)

A regular season finale loss to Guelph on Saturday spoiled the Thunderwolves hopes of a first-round bye but the team will be ready when it hosts Western at the Thunderdome on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.

Lakehead won its only meeting with Western earlier this season at home 71-45 on Feb. 14.  As she does most nights, Jylisa Williams led the way for the Thunderwolves with 28 points with 10 rebounds.  Williams' teammate Essa Jacobsen added 15 points along with six rebounds.  For the Mustangs, Victoria Heine had a team-high 11 points and nine rebounds

It was a memorable final season for Williams, who now holds Ontario University Athletics single-game and single-season scoring records. Williams had 23 points on Sunday and established a new single-season scoring record of 548 points.  Earlier this season, she broke the single-game record when she scored 50 points against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Feb. 6.  The previous single-game points record was held by Candi Lohr, formerly of the Brock Badgers, and had stood for almost 35 years before Williams set the bar one point higher. 

Limiting Williams will obviously be the key to success for the Mustangs on Wednesday, but they will also need huge performances from their top-three scorers Mackenzie Puklicz, Caroline Wolynski and rookie Maddy Horst if they hope to upset the Thunderwolves. 

The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to face the Central division champion (4) McMaster Marauders (15-4).

Lakehead and McMaster split a weekend doubleheader earlier in the season with the Thunderwolves winning 75-60 on Nov. 14 before falling to the Marauders the following day 63-59.  McMaster won its only meeting of the season with Western 65-51 on Nov. 26.

The Marauders are led by third-year guard Danielle Boiago, who is averaging 18.9 points per game which ranks her third in OUA. Boiago also ranks third in defensive rebounds (127) and free throw percentage (82.0). Forward Clare Kenney controls the glass for McMaster, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game.

McMaster will host the winner of Wednesday's first-round matchup at home in the quarter-finals on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m.

(6) Ottawa Gee-Gees (14-5) vs. (11) Carleton Ravens (9-10)

The Carleton Ravens would like nothing more than to avenge its regular season losses to the crosstown rival Ottawa Gee-Gees by eliminating them in the first round of the OUA playoffs this Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Gee-Gees swept the season series against the Ravens, beating Carleton 53-48 at home on Jan. 9 and again 46-40 at the 2015 MBNA Capital Hoops Classic on Feb 6.  Stephanie Carr led the Ravens with 15 points and 5 rebounds.  Carr also provides the Ravens with a legitimate outside threat as her 38.3 3-point percentage ranks fifth in OUA.

Kellie Ring matched Carr with 15 points in the Capital Hoops win for the Gee-Gees, while Julia Soriano and Krista van Slingerland each added 11 more for Ottawa. 

Guard Stephanie MacDonald averages 16.2 points and 3.1 steals per game to lead the Gee-Gees.

The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to face the East Division champion (3) Ryerson Rams (16-3).

The Rams split a weekend trip to Ottawa earlier in the regular season, beating the Gee-Gees 58-55 before losing to the Ravens 63-58 the following night.

The Ryerson offence runs through guard Keneca Pingue-Giles, who ranks fourth in OUA averaging 17.5 points per game. Pingue-Giles is the catalyst for a potent Rams offense that puts up 72.8 points per game, second best in OUA. She also ranks third in steals (62) and eighth in assists (63). Forward Sofia Paska and guard Mariah Nunes compliment Pingue-Giles, averaging 10.6 and 10.0 points per game, respectively.

Ryerson will host the winner of Wednesday's first-round matchup at home in the quarter-finals on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.

(7) Queen's Gaels (11-8) vs. (10) Laurentian Voyageurs (8-11)

The road to the Final Four for the Laurentian Voyageurs will go through Kingston and the Queen's Gaels.

Queen's beat Laurentian 89-62 earlier this season at home thanks to the performance of veteran guard Liz Boag.  Boag had a game-high 19 points while her teammate Emily Hazlett chipped in 17 points of her own and seven rebounds.  The Voyageurs were led by Devenae Bryce and Adrienne Moreau both of whom scored 12 points.

The Gaels feature one of the best scoring combinations in the league with Boag and Jenny Wright both averaging 13 points per game. 

Not to be outdone, Laurentian has itself a pretty good pair as well in Bryce and guard Danielle Harris.  Bryce is a top-10 scorer in the league and leads the Voyageurs averaging 14.2 points per game while Harris is a close second at 12.5. The Voyageurs live and die by the three pointer. While they rank third in OUA averaging six 3-pointers made per game, they rank near the bottom in 3-point percentage at 23.7%.

The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to face the (2) Laurier Golden Hawks (17-3).

The Golden Hawks, who set a program record for wins in a season this year, won both of their games against the Gaels and Voyageurs this season. On Nov. 13, Laurier beat Laurentian at home 74-62 before heading out on the road and sneaking past the Gaels 56-53 on Nov. 15.

Leading the Laurier charge this season is centre Whitney Ellenor, who is averaging 15.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for the Golden Hawks. Ellenor is also an imposing defensive player in the middle averaging 2.2 blocks per game.

The Golden Hawks are one of the most well-balanced teams in the conference and their impressive regular season record speaks to that. Along with Ellenor, Nicole Morrison, Kaitlyn Schenck and Samantha Jacobs proved the Golden Hawks were ready to contend for an OUA championship when they upset the two-time defending OUA champion Windsor Lancers on their home court earlier this year.

Laurier will host the winner of Wednesday's first-round matchup at home in the quarter-finals on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.

(8) Toronto Varsity Blues (10-9) vs. (9) Brock Badgers (8-11)

Don't think every point matters?  Just ask the Brock Badgers.  The Badgers finished the regular season tied for third in the OUA Central Division with the Guelph Gryphons.  However, with a +1 point differential from their two regular season games, the Badgers snuck into the OUA playoffs while the Gryphons saw their season come to an end.

Brock will now face the Toronto Varsity Blues in the opening round of the postseason.  In their previous regular season meeting, the Blues beat the Badgers on the road 79-73 on Feb. 14.  Jenalyn Yumol had a double-double for Brock with 16 points 10 rebounds, and also added four assists and three steals in the losing effort.  Kira Cornellisen led Brock with 18 points and six rebounds.  Varsity Blues guard Jill Stratton had a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Stratton ranks third in OUA averaging 9.1 rebounds per game and seventh in points per game (16.1).  If Brock hopes to have success against the Blues, it will need to control the glass at both ends of the floor. However, that is something that's easier said than done.  As a team, the Varsity Blues rank first in defensive rebounds (28.9), third in offensive rebounds (15.1) and second in total rebounds per game (44.1). The Badgers rank 13^th in rebound margin per game (-6.6).

The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to face the (1) Windsor Lancers (19-1).

The Lancers won both of their previous meetings with the Varsity Blues and Badgers this season.  On Nov. 14, Windsor beat Toronto on the road 94-65 before beating Brock at home 85-54 on Nov. 28.

Led by guard Karissa Williams, the Lancers appear poised for another deep run in the OUA playoffs.  Williams ranked second in OUA this season averaging 19.3 points per game, and had 64 steals and 85 assists during the regular season.

As a team, the Lancers are an offensive juggernaut ranking first in OUA in points per game (80.5), field goal percentage (48.4) and free throw percentage (37.0). 

They also are extremely efficient at clearing the glass with a 12.4 rebound margin per game.  Williams, along with her teammates Cheyanne Roger, Emily Prevost and Andrea Kiss all average over 6.0 rebounds per game.

Windsor will host the winner of Wednesday's first-round matchup at home in the quarter-finals on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.

The OUA Women's Final Four will be hosted at the highest remaining seed.  Semifinal action is scheduled to begin on March 6th followed by the Gold medal game on March 7th.

OUA.tv will be your home for playoff basketball as the "Quest for the Cup" begins on Wednesday, Feb. 25.