AROUND OUA: Hazlett and Dixon pace Gaels to takedown of No. 4 Marauders 60-53
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 20, 2015)- The Queen's Gaels (4-0) women's basketball team maintained their perfect regular season record on Friday evening at the Athletics and Recreation Centre by defeating the McMaster Marauders (3-2) 60-53.
SCOREBOARD
Hazlett and Dixon pace Gaels to takedown of No. 4 Marauders 60-53
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 20, 2015)- The Queen's Gaels (4-0) women's basketball team maintained their perfect regular season record on Friday evening at the Athletics and Recreation Centre by defeating the McMaster Marauders (3-2) 60-53.
Emily Hazlett (Fredericton, N.B) recorded a game-high 13 points, and Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.) added 12 for the Gaels, who used a potent fourth-quarter offensively to remain unbeaten atop the OUA East. Danielle Boiago also tallied 13 points in a losing cause for the Marauders, who drop to 2-2 on the year.
GAME FLOW
After the Marauders took an early lead midway through the opening quarter, the Gaels responded with two-straight three-pointers to push ahead of the visitors. After a three from Jenny Wright (Kingston, Ont.), Maddie Morris (Seeley's Bay, Ont.) came up with a big rejection on the defensive end of the floor. Queen's quickly moved the ball in transition, and Marianne Alarie (Sudbury, Ont.) found Dixon for another long-range jumper. The Gaels held a 14-9 lead after the first quarter.
The respective offences went quiet in the early minutes of the second. The Marauders hit just two jump shots, while the Gaels weren't able to extend their point total through the first five minutes. Siobhan Manning's lay-up pushed the visitors back in front, which prompted a timeout from Gaels coach Dave Wilson.
Wright finally broke the Gaels scoreless drought at the 3:41 mark of the quarter with her second three-point basket after Queen's went nearly 10 minutes without a point scored. The Marauders maintained their lead throughout the remaining minutes of the half, taking a 22-19 advantage after two quarters of play. Both squads worked at a 25% shooting efficiency in the first half.
Wright drained another three-point attempt to draw the Gaels even at the beginning of the third quarter. After the hometown native sunk two-of-three foul shots to give Queen's a slight lead, Hazlett scored a running lay-up off the glass as the shot clock was about to expire, helping extend the Gael advantage.
McMaster responded with a 7-0 run, topped from another three-pointer by Manning. Another quick offensive burst by the Gaels, however, gave the hosts a 36-33 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Queen's offence proceeded to explode in the opening moments of the final period, as the women notched 11 points within the first three minutes of the fourth to take a commanding double-digit lead. With the momentum on the host's side, Hazlett picked up a steal and quickly found Dixon in transition, who drained an important three-pointer, extending the lead to 13.
Marauders coach Anne Marie Thuss called a timeout in an effort to stem the tricolour tide. The Marauders responded by slicing into the Gaels advantage over the next few minutes of regulation, at one point coming within five points of Queen's. The hosts, however, weathered McMaster's final push, extending their win streak to four games in the process.
FINAL SAY
"What was really important about this game is that we brought in a defence this week that McMaster hasn't seen before," said Wilson. "Our goal was to take their best player out of the game, and I thought we did a very good job of that. We were able to get them out of their rhythm, which helped us be more successful defensively."
BY THE NUMBERS
4- The Gaels regular season winning streak. The women are currently undefeated in conference play.
4- Also the number of Queen's players who hit the double-digit scoring mark
8- The number of lead changes in Friday night's game.
UP NEXT
The Gaels return to the ARC on Saturday evening to host the No.6 Brock Badgers. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.
Source: Queen's Gaels
Van Balkom scores 27, Gryphons use big 4th quarter to beat Laurentian
Guelph, ON - The final score did not reflect how close things were on Friday night between the Gryphons and the Voyageurs. But in the end, the Gryphons Women's Basketball team was able to pull away from Laurentian in a massive fourth quarter spearheaded by Bridget Atkinson, Dana Van Balkom and Kate MacTavish as Guelph won 82-63 over Laurentian at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre. Atkinson's 7 second half assists, Van Balkom's 27 points and MacTavish's 19 points helped the Gryphons improve to 4-1 on the season. With the loss, Laurentian falls to 1-4.
The Gryphons were forced to make due without their start point guard thanks to some foul trouble early on. Bridget Atkinson was whistled for a pair of fouls within the first four minutes of the game. With Atkinson on the bench, U of G needed someone else to step up. That someone was fifth year guard Dana Van Balkom. Van Balkom, who is 2nd in the OUA with 90 points scored this season, poured in 14 points in the opening half of an efficient 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-3 from beyond. Van Balkom was the lone bright spot in the first half for a Gryphon offence that otherwise struggled, as Guelph held a slim one-point lead heading into halftime.
The Gryphons slowly found their game in the third quarter as the return of Atkinson helped steady the ship as the hosts only committed four turnovers in the quarter. Atkinson's vision on the court and her passing helped calm the offence and it all came together in the fourth quarter as the fifth year duo of Van Balkom and MacTavish could not be stopped. The two veterans would each rack up 10 points in the final quarter, which included a 15-4 run in the early goings. The Gryphons would go on to pour in 29 points in the fourth, while also limiting Laurentian to just 14 en route to a 82-63 victory.
Van Balkom finished 10-18 from the floor including 4-8 from three for a season-high 27 points. Fifth year Waterloo native Kate MacTavish went 8-13 from the field as she finished with 19 points of her own and now sits just six points shy of 1,000 for her Gryphon career. She will more than likely reach that milestone on Saturday night as the Gryphons host the Nippising Lakers at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre at 6 p.m.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
Western defeated by Ryerson for first loss of the season
LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs women's basketball team had the upper hand in the first quarter, but they were unable to hold on to the lead, as the Ryerson Rams claimed an 84-70 win on Friday night at Alumni Hall.
"I thought we played hard. I didn't think we played smart for all forty minutes, I think we were disorganized at times, and we lacked leadership at times," said Western head coach, Brian Cheng.
The loss was Western's first of the season. They now have a record of 4-1 and are tied with Windsor for first place in the OUA West Division. The Rams now have a record of 4-1 and are right below the Queen's Golden Gaels.
Mackenzie Puklicz was Western's top scorer of the night, registering 17 points in the loss. Caroline Wolynski was close behind with 14, while second-year guard Maddy Horst rounded out the Mustangs who scored in double digits with 11 points.
Sofia Paska led all players with 23 points, while Silvana Jez and Keneca Pinque-Giles also made an impact with 18 and 17 points respectively. Paska also led all rebounders in the contest with nine boards.
The Mustangs played strong from the tip-off. In the first quarter, the Mustangs outshot their opposition, connecting on 47.4% of their total field goals, compared to a 29.4% mark for the Rams. Wolynski contributed six of Western's 20 points in the frame along with making strong plays on the defensive end.
Mackenzie Puklicz and Maddy Horst also made it into the double digits. Puklicz was Western's top scorer of the night, scoring a total of 17 points including four foul shots, while Horst netted 11 including two three pointers.
Although the Mustangs entered the second frame with the lead their advantage didn't last long as less than three minutes into the second quarter the Rams managed to go ahead 21-20. Mustang Laura Graham made a layup to steal the lead back from the Rams, but a few seconds later, the away team got ahead and stayed ahead for the remainder of the game including a 40-31 lead at the half.
After both teams recorded 21 points in the third, the Mustangs entered the game's final quarter trailing the Rams 61-52.
Despite a solid push from the Mustangs in the fourth, Ryerson's strong rebounding and higher shooting percentage, which shot up to 47% compared to Western's 35.2% by the end of the match, kept the Rams in the lead and they walked away an 84-70 win.
"We definitely didn't play to our potential tonight," said Wolynski. "They killed us on the boards and ultimately that was enough to put us away."
Moving forward, Wolynski talked about what the team needs to do differently in order to get back on the winning train.
"Getting after the boards, we've got to get a press attack going, and I'll think we'll be just fine for UofT on Sunday," she said.
The Mustangs are back on their home court on Sunday, November 22 to face the Toronto Varsity Blues. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed on OUA.tv.
Source: Western Mustangs
Ravens cruise to 67-29 win over Algoma
(OTTAWA, ON) – The Ravens picked up their third win of the season in a 67-29 one-sided triumph over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Friday evening at the Ravens' Nest.
Carleton (3-2) won its third consecutive home game of the season behind a player-of-the-game performance from sophomore Elizabeth Leblanc (London, ON) who tallied 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and a team-high 27 minutes of floor time. Algoma (0-5) dropped its fifth-straight game to start the season.
Leblanc, a 6'1″ forward, had a complete game on both ends of the floor and she also showed her range from 3-point land, going 2-5 (40%) from downtown. Carleton shot successfully from beyond the arc against the Thunderbirds as the team put up a season-high 42.9% (9-21) on threes in the game.
Carleton jumped out to a 37-9 halftime lead as Algoma struggled to get anything going on offence. The Ravens were aggressive on defence and they were able to force 14 turnovers through the first two quarters. Carleton's first-year guard Cynthia Dupont-Letourneau (Waterville, QC) also played a strong game as she added 10 points before the half on her way to 12 points in the game.
"We had some good contributions from Cynthia [Dupont-Letourneau] tonight, and Elizabeth Leblanc is coming back from injury – both of them had strong games in particular," said a complimentary Ravens head coach Taffe Charles.
The Thunderbirds came into this evening's game averaging just 39.3 points per game – the third lowest average in the CIS – and tonight proved to be their most trying of the season to date, as the team could only score a season-low of 29 points on just 16.7% shooting from the floor.
While Algoma was never able to get into a flow on offence, their defence improved in the second half as they held Carleton somewhat in check for the majority of the second half. The Ravens only won the third quarter in a slight 12-10 advantage, but they pulled away a little further in the fourth with an 18-10 scoreline.
Coach Charles was satisfied with his team's effort on the defensive side of the ball throughout the game.
"We defended pretty well. We pressured the ball and we got them out of their comfort zone."
With some of the Ravens returning from injury, the depth of the Carleton roster is starting to emerge with some of the younger players fighting for minutes and showing their potential.
"I have challenged all of the players since our group has become healthier in recent weeks and now it's about players who are going to be productive," said Charles. "I think there is a lot of internal competition for playing time."
Dupont-Letourneau posted her second straight game with double digit points following last weekend's career-high of 13 points against Lakehead.
"Cynthia is emerging from the group right now," described Charles. "Hopefully she continues to be consistent because she has really good basketball instincts."
The Ravens grabbed a season-high of 56 rebounds and had seven players scoop five or more boards in the game. Carleton also tied their season-low of 15 turnovers which demonstrated their strong ball control as well as a sense of confidence in executing the offence.
The Ravens will host their final two games of the fall schedule as the Western Mustangs (November 27th) and Windsor Lancers (November 28th) come to town.
Source: Carleton Ravens
Lions fall to No. 7 Badgers in home opener
After two weeks on the road, the York University Lions women's basketball team made its home debut of the season with a 68-52 loss to the No. 7 nationally-ranked Brock Badgers on Friday night (Nov. 20).
In the first quarter the Badgers caught the Lions on the back foot and ended up taking a 22-9 lead to start the game.
One of the Lions best plays of the quarter came from Haley Bowie (Ancaster, Ont.), who pushed toward the basket and although she missed the layup, Shauney Fischer (Wallaceburg, Ont.) followed close behind to get the rebound.
Despite Brock's convincing lead, the Lions were able to get themselves back into the game and outscored the Badgers 16-11 in the second quarter. Katrina Collins-Samuels (Hamilton, Ont.) threw an accurate penetrating pass to Sandra Nagowska (Peterborough, Ont.) who capitalized and added two points to the scoreboard. Minutes later Fischer added another two points and the Lions narrowed the score to 33-25 to head into the second intermission.
In the second half of the game the Badgers came out strong, and edged out the Lions in both the third and fourth quarters to win convincingly.
Ishanaa Seupersadsingh (Markham, Ont.) executed off of two fast breaks and got four points in layups. Seupersadsingh and Nina Guzina (Toronto) both had outstanding games, collecting 31 of the Lions' 52 points, but their efforts couldn't stop the Badgers from taking the game.
Guzina finished with 16 points on an efficient 5-of-9 from the floor, while Seupersadsingh had 15 points, two rebounds and two assists.
Brock's leading scorer was Jenalyn Yumol with 16 points and she also filled the stats sheet with four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
The Lions have a short turn-around period before they face the No. 4 McMaster Marauders on Saturday (Nov. 21) at the Tait McKenzie Centre. Tip-off will be at 6pm.
Source: York Lions
Point guard Jerika Baldin kept on finding her shooters all game, namely Bridget O'Reilly and Maggie Murphy, who responded in kind and filled it up from behind the arc, as Lakehead rolled to an 86-55 win over the Nipissing Lakers.
Baldin made an incredible 15 assists on the game, which stands as the most in recent history for Lakehead Basketball, men's or women's.
Lakehead's full court pressure showed mixed results early, part of the time resulting in a Nipissing turnover, but other times an easy look at the basket once the Lakers got over half court.
The third quarter was all 'Wolves, as the press was fine tuned and created the desired turnovers, in bunches, as the 'Wolves broke the game open in a flash, putting up 20 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter.
For the Lakers, Mackenzie Bahm, Claire Abbott and Rachel Jaworowicz recorded 9 points each.
"Tonight we were carried by the three ball in the first half and it's a good thing because we had some difficulties on the defensive end," said coach Jon Kreiner. "We brought great energy out of the half and created some easy looks. Bridget O'Reilly had another big game tonight for us and Maggie Murphy made the most of her 17 minutes knocking down 4 threes. Jerika Baldin did an amazing job distributing the ball with 15 assists to 1 turnover."
