AROUND OUA: Strong start leads Golden Hawks over Varsity Blues
TORONTO, Ont. (February 6, 2016) – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks put an end to a three-game skid and are back in the win column with a 79-62 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night.
SCOREBOARD
Nipissing 40 @ Windsor 74
Strong start leads Golden Hawks over Varsity Blues
TORONTO, Ont. (February 6, 2016) – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks put an end to a three-game skid and are back in the win column with a 79-62 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night.
Although the Blues were the first on the board with a two point shot, the Golden Hawks got the jump on the home team for the remainder of the first quarter and drained 21 points to Toronto's eight.
The early 12-point lead was key for the Golden Hawks success as the Blues rallied back in the second and were able to outscore the Hawks, but not by enough to reclaim the lead.
By halftime, the Hawks were up 39-30, outscoring the Blues from the field on two- and three-point shots. Leading the way for the Hawks after 20 minutes of play was second year guard Lauren Jamieson (Oakville, Ont.) with 11 points and one assist, while third year guard Nicole Morrison (Hamilton) was just behind her with nine points, two rebounds, and two assists.
For the Varsity Blues it was rookie forward Charlotte Collyer (Colleyville, Texas) with the best offensive effort as she gathered eight points, three rebounds, and one steal.
After the half, the Hawks picked up the pace and padded their lead with another eight-point gain in the third quarter that the Toronto team would not recover from for the rest of the game.
In the 17-point victory, Morrison claimed a game-high 20 points and added five rebounds and two assists for Laurier while Jamieson finished with 11 points, one assist, and two steals after twenty minutes of play.
Fourth year guard Kaitlyn Schenck (Kitchener, Ont.) came out strong in the second half and totalled 16 points and three rebounds on the night. Heather Payne of North Bay, Ont., was all over the boards for the purple and gold as she collected 13 rebounds. Payne also added three steals, one block, and one assist on the night.
Collyer finished with a team-high 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals for Toronto.
With the victory, the Hawks (7-8) look to even up their record as they take on the Guelph Gryphons (7-6) on February 12 at 6:00 p.m. The game can be viewed live on OUA.tv.
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
Dixon doubles up, Gaels drop Thunderwolves 69-51
KINGSTON, Ont. (February 6, 2016)- The Queen's Gaels women's basketball team picked up its second victory in as many nights on Saturday evening at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC), using a strong second half to defeat the Lakehead Thunderwolves 69-51.
North Vancouver, B.C. native Abby Dixon picked up a team-high 15 points and added 11 rebounds to pick up her second double-double of the season. Toronto product Robyn Pearson also tallied a double-double for the second night in a row, tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Emily Hazlett (Fredericton, N.B.) and Andrea Priamo (Guelph, Ont.) dropped 13 and 11 points respectively.
The Gaels (11-3) pick up their second win in as many nights, and remain second in the OUA East division. Katelyn Andrea recorded a game-high 17 points in a losing cause for the Thunderwolves (5-8), who remain fourth in the Central division.
GAME FLOW
Both squads were a bit slow out of the gate, each shooting under 25% through the first 10 minutes of play. For the second evening in a row, the hosts gave themselves plenty of scoring opportunities, pulling down 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone. They were able to turn those boards into just three second-chance points, however, while the visitors went nearly five minutes without draining a basket before Maggie Murphy hit a three late in the first. The Gaels held a 15-11 advantage heading into the second quarter.
The teams traded points throughout the opening minutes of the second quarter, but neither side was able to build significant momentum offensively over the final minutes before halftime. Both the Gaels and Thunderwolves were able to tally just a single three-point basket in the half, a rarity especially for Lakehead who averages the most three-pointers per game in the OUA. The teams combined to go 2-of-26 from distance, but the hosts used some strong post-play and free throw shooting (7-8) to build a 30-23 lead at the half.
After the Thunderwolves cut the lead to as low as five in the third quarter, the Gaels picked up their offense and built their lead back up throughout the rest of the period. The women went on an 8-2 run to end the quarter, which included a mid-range jumper from Andrea Priamo that gave the hosts its first double-digit lead. Another basket by Dixon at the buzzer put the Gaels up by 13 heading into the fourth.
The Gaels continued to pick up momentum in the final period, going on an 8-0 run that included two lay-ups from Pearson in the post that put the women up by 20 points midway through the fourth. That was more than enough to secure Queen's 11th victory of the season.
FINAL SAY
"I thought Lakehead did a very good job of keeping us off balance in the first half," said Head Coach Dave Wilson. "We knew they would have some different defenses that they would throw against us, which was effective for them in the first half. In the second half we had some solutions and a little bit of time to think about it, and did a much better job of executing obviously."
BY THE NUMBERS
2- Two Gaels earned double-doubles on the evening (Robyn Pearson and Abby Dixon)
12- Queen's turned over the ball on just 12 occasions, while picking up 13 points off takeaways
4- The women now hold a 4-1 record at the ARC in regular season play
61- Queen's dominated the glass for the second night in a row, picking up a total of 61, compared to 34 from the Thunderwolves
UP NEXT
The Gaels will continue their homestand next Friday, February 12 when they host the Western Mustangs at the ARC. The women then head to Toronto the day after to take on the Windsor Lancers at the Enercare Centre in a special event as part of NBA All-Star Weekend.
Source: Queen's Gaels
Western tops Laurentian for ninth win in a row
LONDON, Ont. – Western's tough defense made it extremely difficult for the Laurentian Voyageurs to get much action on the scoreboard Saturday night, as the Mustangs charged to a 63-48 victory at Alumni Hall.
"That's the first time we've held a team below 50 in a long time," said Western head coach Brian Cheng. "We were kind of almost taking [our success] for granted, and I think that showed last night, and it was a great response to what happened last night."
The victory is Western's ninth win in a row. The team has a 12-3 record and a total of 24 points, currently the highest amount in the OUA.The Voyageurs aren't seeing as much success, and with a record of 3-11, they have a total of six points.
The differences in the teams' records were paralleled in the team's scores on Saturday. In the first quarter, the Mustangs scored 18 points from four different players—Caroline Wolynski, Mackenzie Puklicz, Victoria Heine, and Meredith McLeod. Meanwhile, the Voyageurs scored just four, all by L'Ashante Henry.
Maddy Horst may not have scored in the first frame, but her strong second, third, and fourth quarters allowed her to be the top scorer of the night with 15 points. Wolynski followed with 11, then Puklicz with 10.
On the Voyageur end, Henry led the team with a total of 12 points, four coming from her four free throw shots, which she went 100% for. Adrienne Moreau was the only other Laurentian player to earn double digits, with 11.
Despite the outcome, the match was tight at the start, with the first points coming from foul shots by Henry nearly two minutes in. Puklicz evened the score shortly after, and the Mustangs never turned back.
With six points, two rebounds, and two steals, Heine reminded Western fans what they were missing when she sat out yesterday due to injury. The Mustangs executed tough defense throughout the first ten minutes and the quarter ended 18-4 in favour of the home team.
Behind by 14 points, the Laurentian Voyageurs sought redemption in the second frame. They came close to matching the Mustangs' baskets, achieving 23 points in the frame compared to Western's 25. To counter the Voyageur intensity, Wolynski ran set plays, beat opponents one-on-one, and led the scoring in the half with 11 points, proving why the Mustangs call her captain.
At the end of the quarter, a foul at the buzzer against Horst granted Voyageur Tinnes three free throws, each of which she made to end the half 43-27 for Western.
"You can't hold a team down forever, it's almost inhuman," says Cheng of the close quarter.
Following the halftime break, second-year Horst and first-year Laura Graham shone, each scoring a three-pointer and contributing five of the Mustangs' 16 points in the quarter. Puklicz's notorious hustle led to three big steals and the score was 59-37 heading into the final frame.
With their last chance of getting back in the game, the Voyageurs came in hot in the final ten minutes. With numerous Mustangs, both starters and non-starters, seeing the court, the Voyageurs were able to out-shoot the home team in field goal attempts, 22 to 14.
Those shots resulted in Laurentian outscoring the purple and white 11 points to a mere four (by Horst and Sam Loucks), but ultimately, the early lead allowed the Mustangs to take home the win, 63-48.
Up next, the Mustangs will attempt to get their winning streak to double digits when they face the tough Queen's Gaels in Kingston on Friday, February 12.
"Queen's is gonna be a tough one," says Wolynski. "But hopefully we can scout them and prepare for them and pull something out of the bag that maybe they haven't seen before."
Source: Western Mustangs
Thunderbirds can't hold off Warriors
Coming off their big first season win last night in their annual Shoot for the Cure event, the Algoma Thunderbirds women's team looked to earn their second win in their doubleheader weekend against the Waterloo Warriors. Unable to hold off the Warriors in the final quarter, Algoma fell 73-66.
Looking tired after last night's showdown, both Algoma and Waterloo were slow to start. Algoma got into a rhythm first, edging ahead of the black and gold. Waterloo kept it close, trailing by 4 at the buzzer, 14-10. Waterloo showed off greater physicality and aggression from the previous night's performance, but still had troubles finding the basket. Algoma got hot in the fifth minute, going on a 12-point run, to give them their largest lead of the game, 30-17. Waterloo battled back, cutting the deficit down to 4, trailing 31-27 going into the third frame.
Waterloo came out of the locker room firing, battling hard to level the game at 37. Algoma struggled to put up points and stop the fast break of the Warriors. Waterloo exploded, edging past the Tbirds for the first time since the first quarter, forcing an Algoma timeout. Out of steam, Algoma turned over the ball and failed to make connections. Waterloo continued to drive, outshooting and outrebounding the red and white, pulling ahead 51-44 going into the final minutes. Algoma relied on outside shooting to put up points, getting within 2 of the visitors. Both teams fought hard, exchanging buckets down the stretch, but Algoma was unable to capitalize on all shooting opportunities. With just four seconds left of play, Algoma was down 4. Unable to hold off Waterloo, Algoma fell 73-66, splitting their weekend decision.
Karissa Kajorinne led the Tbirds with 15 points and 2 boards, followed by Laura Meadows with 13 points and 4 rebounds. Sydney Resch and Marlee Ball both chipped in with 12. Waterloo's Nicole Schlick led both squads with 18 points.
Algoma falls to 1-13 while Waterloo falls to 3-12 in the OUA West.
Source: Algoma Thunderbirds
Gryphons pick up road win over Lions
TORONTO, ON – Saturday evening at the Tait McKenzie Gymnasium on the campus of York University, the Gryphons women's basketball team won 75-56 over the York Lions. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 7-6 on the season while the Lions fall to 2-12.
After having suffered a 14-point loss Friday night at Queen's, the Gryphons were right back at it on Saturday night at York in a game that marked the fourth of six straight road games for the Gryphons. Despite the fact that York came into this game with one of the worst records in the league, they were able to get off to a fast start as they started the game on 7-0 run. The quick start from York certainly grabbed the attention of the Gryphons who would quickly recover, using a 24-2 run over a span of 5:43 to take a 27-13 lead after the opening quarter of play. The Gryphons wouldn't look back from there.
Guelph won the turnover battle in convincing fashion Saturday night, forcing York into 21 turnovers while committing just 9 themselves. The Gryphons also did a solid job getting to the free throw line, going 22-of-28 from the charity stripe, led by Dana Van Balkom who was 9-of-10 on free throws.
The Lions were able to remain in striking distance and were trailing by eight at halftime. In the third quarter however, the Gryphons would blow things wide open thanks to a 13-0 run that pushed the Guelph lead to 27.
Four Gryphon players finished in double figures in scoring with fifth year guard Dana Van Balkom leading all scorers with 17 points. Kate MacTavish finished with 13 points in just 15 minutes of floor time, while Barbara Inrig-Pieterse chipped in with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Second year point guard Bridget Atkinson filled up the stat sheet, finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
The Gryphons (7-6) sit third in the OUA Central division with six games remaining on their regular season schedule. The Gryphons will play each of their next two games in Waterloo as they will face Laurier on Friday (Feb. 12) and Waterloo on Saturday (Feb. 13).
Source: Guelph Gryphons
