AROUND OUA: Defending National Champion Lancers hand Gryphons 65-49 loss
GUELPH, ON – It's tough to win any game in OUA women's basketball action.
SCOREBOARD
Defending National Champion Lancers hand Gryphons 65-49 loss
GUELPH, ON – It's tough to win any game in OUA women's basketball action.
It's even tougher when you're battling not only the other team, but also your own inconsistency.
That was a big problem on Friday night for the Guelph Gryphons, who dropped a 65-49 decision to the Windsor Lancers at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre.
The Gryphs outshot the Lancers, but managed only an 18.5 per cent field-goal percentage. They were more consistent from the free-throw line, but not enough to make a difference, because Windsor was markedly better in both categories.
"We weren't finishing," said Gryphs head coach Christin Dickenson. "We got a lot of great looks, we got to the free-throw line, but we didn't shoot well enough from the field and we didn't shoot well enough from the line."
Another big problem for Guelph was its inability to contain Windsor's Cheyanne Roger, who dominated at both ends of the court. The big forward asserted herself right away, scoring 11 points and grabbing five rebounds in the first quarter alone. And she couldn't be rattled despite the Gryphs trying to be tough with her, hitting all five of her free-throw attempts in that opening frame.
"It really allowed her to feel that she could control the game," Dickenson said. "That was someone who we needed to frustrate right away. To me, she got pretty confident throughout that game, and that was the biggest difference between winning and losing."
Roger wound up with a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds. Emily Prevost had 14 points for the Lancers and Andrea Kiss added 13.
Bridget Atkinson led the Gryphs with 11 points. Katherine MacTavish, Dana Van Balkom and Barbara Inrig-Pieterse each contributed nine points, with MacTavish also collecting 12 rebounds.
Dickenson would like to have seen more from Atkinson, particularly in defending against Roger, but the sophomore forward from Welland, ON got into foul trouble.
"Not having Bridget on the court was a difficult situation for us," the coach said. "She's an outstanding point guard and so sitting her was a big issue for us."
She also expressed displeasure during the game with what she felt was inconsistent officiating, but she reflected on that later.
"I think they have a tough job, especially with two teams that are as physical as both of our teams," Dickenson said. "We're always trying to figure out how to play in each game."
Friday's was a particularly chippy contest, with the two teams combining for 55 fouls – 28 for Windsor and 27 for Guelph. Inrig-Pieterse and Regan Duff both fouled out for the Gryphs, as did Windsor's Orian Amsalem.
It was Guelph's third loss in a row, dropping the team's record to 5-4 in the OUA Central Division. The Gryphs are now on the road for the next month, playing six contests away from the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre.
Dickenson said it'll be a challenge, but one her team can overcome.
"We say 'win or learn, never lose,' and that's exactly what we said in there," she said, pointing at the locker room. "We learned lessons from this game. We've learned lessons from all of our losses, and that's going to better prepare us for our next task, against Brock. We're going there to win."
That game against Brock is on January 27. The Gryphs won't play at home again until Feburary 17 against Ryerson, which is currently No. 2 in the latest CIS rankings.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
Mustangs defeat Thunderbirds for third straight win
LONDON, Ont. – A 28-point first quarter got the Western Mustangs off to a fast start and they didn't look back, coming away with an 86-65 win over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Friday night at Alumni Hall.
"Everyone contributed," said Western head coach Brian Cheng. "Our bench got some good minutes and everyone contributed tonight on the stats sheet, especially on the points side of things."
Prior to the game there was a moment of silence for the passing of Jadwiga Barbara Wolynski, mother of Mustangs guard Caroline Wolynski. The team is dedicating their season to Jadwiga, and the Mustangs uniforms now feature a commerative black stripe.
The 21-point win is Western's second biggest margin of victory this season, coming second to the Mustangs season opening win in which they defeated Waterloo by 33 points. Friday's win is Western's third consecutive victory and improves the Mustangs record to 6-3 on the year, keeping them tied for first in the OUA West alongside the Windsor Lancers.
The loss gives the Thunderbirds a record of 0-9, just behind the Waterloo Warriors who have a record of 0-8 in the OUA West.
Western's Mackenzie Puklicz was the top scorer on the court Friday, recording 18 points for the home team. Meredith McLeod followed Puklicz's lead, coming in just behind with 16 points on the night. Victoria Heine had a strong game on both ends of the court, securing a double-double by tallying 14 points and achieving a Mustangs season high 14 rebounds.
"I felt like I could have done a little better in that sense," Heine says, despite her record-breaking success. "I missed a few bunnies, but next game I'll work on those, for sure."
On the other end of the court, Jordan Milos led the Thunderbirds, scoring 15 points including five three-pointers. Mackenzie Robinson followed closely, tallying 14.
Following Julia Curran's successful tip-off to start the game, Western took control of the scoreboard. Seven different Mustangs found themselves on the scoresheet in the first frame, which ended in a score of 28-19 in favour of the home team.
It was much of the same in the second quarter, with the Mustangs only allowing the Thunderbirds to add seven points to their score. Although neither team had a stellar shooting percentage in the frame, Western and Algoma sunk 37.1% and 34.5% of their shots respectively, the Mustangs ball control and higher volume of shots ultimately allowed the home side to end the half with a 45-26 lead.
Heading into the second half with a 19-point lead, the Mustangs kept their momentum rolling, and despite being outscored by the Thunderbirds 25-23 in the final quarter, Western claimed an 86-65 win.
The Mustangs will take aim at a fourth straight regular season win when they hit the road to face the Brock Badgers on Wednesday, January 20 at 6 p.m. Catch the game live on OUA.tv.
Source: Western Mustangs
Pearson's glass dominance helps No. 10 Queen's triumph 57-33 over Blues
TORONTO (January 15, 2016) - Robyn Pearson (Toronto) hauled in 20 rebounds and put up 11 points for a double-double as the No.10 Queen's Gaels women's basketball team began the 2016 half of its regular season campaign with a dominant 57-33 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday evening at the Goldring Centre.
GAME FLOW
Abby Dixon (North Vancouver) was 5-of-12 from the field for 13 points, and added six assists and five steals to her stat sheet, all of which were game-highs.
Playing in her hometown, Pearson pulled in nine of her boards on the offensive end and added a block for the Gaels in her double-double. Jenny Wright (Kingston, Ont.) also put up a double-double for Queen's, tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. The win sets up an important divisional match between the CIS No. 10 ranked Gaels and the Ryerson Rams, who are currently ranked No. 2 in the country, on Saturday evening. Queen's holds a 7-1 record, while the Rams are 6-1.
Alanna Garner tallied 12 points in a losing cause for Toronto, who drop to 3-5 on the season and remain third in the OUA East Division.
The Gaels shot 33.3% from the field, but were able to limit the host Blues to only 12 field goals and an overall offensive efficiency of just 17.9% throughout the contest. This included limiting Toronto to single-digits in three of four quarters. Queen's also nearly doubled the home side's glass game, pulling down 61 rebounds, compared to 32 from the Varsity Blues.
BY THE NUMBERS
4 - number of points allowed by Queen's in the fourth quarter
29 - the rebounding difference in favour of the Gaels
34 - points off turnovers and second chances for Queen's
UP NEXT
The Gaels will do battle with the Rams on Saturday evening at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in the first of two matches between the East division rivals this season. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.
Queen's continues its five-game road trip next weekend at York. The women are back at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) on Friday, February 5 when they host Guelph.
Source: Queen's Gaels
