AROUND OUA: Gee-Gees sneak past visiting Golden Hawks
The home games of the regular season drew to close with a couple of wins under the belt of the Ottawa women’s basketball team as they defeated the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 68-64. Both teams took to the hoop hard rallying for the lead but in the end, it was Ottawa who came away with a win. The recent take down lifts Ottawa’s record to 15-2 along with a four-game winning streak with just one double-header weekend remaining in regular season play.
SCOREBOARD
Gee-Gees sneak past visiting Golden Hawks
The home games of the regular season drew to close with a couple of wins under the belt of the Ottawa women's basketball team as they defeated the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 68-64. Both teams took to the hoop hard rallying for the lead but in the end, it was Ottawa who came away with a win. The recent take down lifts Ottawa's record to 15-2 along with a four-game winning streak with just one double-header weekend remaining in regular season play.
Wilfrid Laurier has defeated Ottawa twice in regular season play in the recent two years they faced. The Golden Hawks looked to repeat the past wins as they hit the floor raring to go to lead the first quarter 16-11 with 8-0 run to spur Laurier's control of the first quarter.
Second quarter play swung the score in favour of the Gee-Gees as guard Julia Soriano dropped a three to turn the deep trail into a one point game. Soriano remained hot-handed finishing the game 5-7 from deep, as part of her 19 points. The pivotal three was all the Gee-Gees needed to hammer back owning the quarter 18-9 with the help of a nice 50 per cent average beyond the arc. The new second quarter surge of energy pushed the Gee-Gees ahead 29-25 at the end of the half.
The Golden Hawks fired back in the third closing in on Ottawa as players took it to the hoop hard and finished put backs eventually tying up the game at 45-45. The Golden Hawks five-foot-four guard, Nicole Morrison stuffed the stat sheet holding the game high of 25 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and a block and a steal. Fourth-years, Kaitlyn Schenck and Sarah Dillon lit up the scoreboard as well each putting up 11 points.
The teams went basket for basket for much of the game, but not in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. The Gee-Gees remained consistent from beyond the arc, hitting 50 per cent in all quarters of the game. Ottawa's team high scorer and senior, Catherine Traer aided the three-point average hitting two of her own adding to her 22 points and 7 rebounds. Kellie Ring, also a senior for Ottawa, nailed a double-double in tonight's game with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ring also finished the game with four assists, a block and a steal.
This final regular season weekend also marks the annual Seniors Night featuring graduating players Krista Van Slinglerland as well as program graduating players Kellie Ring, and Catherine Traer.
Krista Van Slingerland polished off her two final years of eligibility under the Gee-Gees. Though Van Slinglerland started off the season with a concussion she has left a legacy off the court with mental health awareness. Slingerland is co-founder of the Student-Athlete Mental Health Initiative, a nation wide program that sheds light on the challenges many student-athletes face balancing sport and school. She notes, "I honestly never though I'd get a [seniors night]", she laughs, "The second chance that this team has given has meant so much to me."
Graduating from her program at the University Ottawa, Catherine Traer contribution to the team is marked as she leads the Gee-Gees scoring as well as being one of the top shot blockers in the country. Traer averages 16.5 points a game as many opponent's note.
Former junior national team player, Kellie Ring is also graduating from her program. Last season, Ring was awarded CIS Tracy McLeod award for determination, perseverance, and unwavering spirit when faced with in several knee injuries requiring surgery and much time off. Kellie Ring's leadership will be missed as well as her play on the court as she leads in assists for team.
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees
Western downed by Windsor in battle of OUA West's top teams
LONDON, Ont. – A game-high 26 points from Cheyanne Roger helped the Windsor Lancers overcome the Western Mustangs by a 76-64 score on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.
"I was a little disappointed on how we attacked," said Western head coach Brian Cheng. "We had prepared all week long and we didn't attack them the way we would like to attack them."
Both the Mustangs and Lancers now hold 13-5 records and share the top spot in the OUA West standings heading into the final week of the regular season.
Saturday's game was easily one of the most physical of the season, with a total of 44 fouls being handed out between the two teams. The Mustangs tallied 21 fouls, compared to 23 for Windsor. Every Lancer who saw the court was whistled for at least one infraction, and in fact only Western's Meredith McLeod ended the game free of any fouls.
"They're a physical team," said Cheng regarding the aggressive play on Saturday. "Both teams were defending well with lots of energy."
Mackenzie Puklicz, who had only one foul against her in the match, led the Mustangs on the scoreboard with 23 points. Maddy Horst, who went four for four at the foul line, was the only other Mustang to earn double-digits, contributing 17 to Western's score.
Two Lancers managed to crack twenty points and earn double-doubles. Roger added 10 rebounds to go along with her 26 points, while Emily Prevost scored 20 points and grabbed 11 off the glass. Carly Steer just missed out on the double-double, registering 12 points and eight rebounds.
It was aggressive and intense right from the tip-off on Saturday, with four fouls being handed out in the first two minutes alone. That two minutes set the tone for the quarter, as nine personal fouls were handed to the Mustangs and seven to Windsor. Neither team was able to make much progress on the scoreboard, and the quarter ended 11-10 in favour of Windsor, with the majority of those points coming from shots at the free throw line.
Moving into the second quarter, the intensity—which was partially fueled by the vocal crowd—never died down. Strong defence on both ends caused the shot clock to near zero numerous times, resulting in many unsuccessful shots that were taken to beat the buzzer. Many of those shots included missed threes, but successful three-pointers by McLeod and Horst at the end of the half helped to keep the score close, and the half ended with Windsor up 35-32.
The Mustangs burst into the second half, taking the lead from the Lancers in the first minute, after which the two sides traded points. A far three-pointer by Puklicz, layups by Horst and McLeod off passes from the defensive half, and numerous spins by Wolynski, are just some of the tricks Western pulled in the quarter, but it wasn't enough to keep the Lancers down as they took a 53-47 lead into the fourth.
The final ten minutes saw the Lancers further separate themselves from the Mustangs. Their skillful and aggressive rebounding, which allowed them to grab 11 rebounds compared to Western's four in the final frame, played a key role in increasing the Windsor lead. At the final buzzer the Lancers walked away with a 76-64 win.
Western has just one more weekend of regular season games before heading to the playoffs. The first of the two matches will be on Friday, February 26 when the Mustangs take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves at Alumni Hall at 6 p.m. Fans can watch the game live on OUA.tv
Source: Western Mustangs
Ravens celebrate Seniors Night with big win over Warriors
(OTTAWA, ON) — Three Carleton seniors enjoyed a final regular season home appearance in style as the women's basketball team put on a clinic in an 84-32 win over the Waterloo Warriors 84-32 on Saturday evening.
The graduating players – Abeer Farhat (Ottawa, ON), Lindsey Suprunchuk (Ottawa, ON) and Natasha Plaskacz (Chelsea, ON) – all had a hand in the Ravens' victory (12-5) that helped them close out their regular season home schedule with a 9-1 record.
The Warriors (4-15), who entered the game with their playoff hopes dashed, struggled for consistency in their second last match-up of the 2015-16 season. The Ravens overpowered the Warriors with a 22-9 first quarter run, and finished the half off with a blistering second quarter to take a 47-15 lead into the break.
Ravens guard Abeer Farhat scored 8 points in the first half, eventually ending the game with a season-high 13 points. Carleton fed the ball into the paint as often as possible, and forward Heather Lindsay (Ottawa, ON) took advantage of countless mismatches with 14 points and 7 rebounds through the first twenty minutes.
Leading by a substantial amount heading into the third quarter, Carleton refused to allow the Warriors back into the game. The Ravens pushed the score to 67-24 after three, an insurmountable deficit for the visitors.
Carleton forced the Warriors into 27 turnovers in the game – the second-most giveaways by Waterloo all season – which the Ravens converted into 34 points of offence.
Sophomore forward Brianne Hamilton (Mississauga, ON) cashed in on twelve minutes of playing time with a career-high 8 points and Elizabeth Leblanc (London, ON) was feeling it from outside against Waterloo as she connected on three 3-pointers (3-4 3PT FG) to help her finish with 13 points.
Ravens forward Lindsey Suprunchuk filled the stat sheet with 8 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Guard Natasha Plaskacz poured in 7 points while chipping in with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Junior Heather Lindsay achieved her tenth double-double of the season with a 17-point, 10-rebound night.
Waterloo shot only 23.4% (11-47 FG) from the floor and a sub-par 7.7% (1-13 3PT FG) from beyond the arc, both season lows. With tonight's result secured, Carleton is limiting its opponents to an average of 56.6 PPG, the third-best defensive ranking in the OUA.
The Ravens wrap up the regular season next weekend with a trip up north to meet divisional foes, Laurentian (Feb.26/16) and Nipissing (Feb.27/16).
Source: Carleton Ravens
Badgers roll past Lakers on Seniors Day
ST. CATHARINES, ON - The Brock University women's basketball team defeated the Nipissing Lakers by the score of 85-49 on Senior Night at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
The Badgers started all five graduating seniors including Jenalyn Yumol (London, ON), Kayla Santilli (Brantford, ON), Kate Harpur (NOTL, ON), Becky Ralph (Ancaster, ON) and Dayna Howlett (Burlington,ON) who made her lone appearance of the season.
Yumol had a career night, setting a new Brock single game assist record finishing with 14 assists 12 points and five steals.
Santilli contributed with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Harpur registered the double-double adding 14 point and 14 rebounds. Also in double figures were Kira Cornelissen (Aylmer, ON) (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Chrissy Sirignano (St. Catharines, ON) (10 points).
For the game, Brock shot 39.5% (32-for-81) from the field, 25.7% (9-for-35) from beyond the arc and just 57.1% (12-for-21) from the charity stripe. The Lakers went 16-for-53 (30.2%) from the floor, 6-for-21 (28.6%) from long range and 57.9% (11-for-19) from the free throw line.
The Badgers return to action Wednesday night at 5:30pm when they host divisional rival McMaster Marauders at the Meridian Centre.
Source: Brock Badgers
Marauders send seniors off in style
The McMaster women's basketball team honoured the seniors on this year's squad and then proceeded to defeat the Laurentian Voyageurs 84-44 on Saturday night in the Burridge Gym.
The Marauders were determined to push tempo early and used a 10-0 run to grab a 16-6 lead in the opening quarter. Laurentian made a late push before the quarter ended and got back to within 18-11 after 10 minutes.
The second quarter saw McMaster turn on the full-court pressure and the strategy worked as the Voyageurs started to turn the ball over and the Marauders took full advantage. By halftime, the McMaster lead had grown to 40-19, as Laurentian was held to just eight points in the second quarter.
As in the previous win over Nipissing, McMaster again was able to deploy its full roster for the entire game, keeping fresh legs on the court and keeping up the pressure. The Marauders spread the ball around smartly and shared the scoring load with 11 of 12 players getting on the score-sheet.
The final two quarters were won by the Marauders as they controlled the play, using their press to great effect and scoring easy baskets in transition.
Clare Kenney had a huge double-double effort with 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead McMaster. Four other Marauders scored in double-figures, including: Danielle Boiago with 12, Hilary Hanaka and Andrea Polischuk with 11 each, and Rachael Holmes with 10. The top shooter for Laurentian was Adrienne Moreau who dropped 10 points. McMaster crushed the Voyageurs on the boards by 55-27.
The seniors honoured at the game were Andrea Polischuk, who completes her final year of CIS eligibility, along with Rachael Holmes and Siobhan Manning, who are both on track to graduate this spring, but who each have another year of eligibility left should they choose to use it.
McMaster will next travel to St. Catharines on Wednesday, February 24 to play Brock at the Meridian Centre. Tip-off for the big off-campus event is set for 5:30 p.m.
Source: McMaster Marauders
Algoma falls to powerhouse Queen's
In their final home game of the season and their annual Seniors' Night game, the Algoma Thunderbirds women's squad was downed by the Queen's Gaels, 67-34.
The Thunderbirds were in the tough, taking on the number 9 team in the country. The Gaels drew the first blood, jumping out 7-0. Algoma did a better job defensively, but struggled to get a good look on net. Mackenzie Robinson went 2-2 from beyond the arc to get Algoma on the scoreboard. Queen's heated up, stringing together a 9-point run to end the first quarter, 22-6.
Queen's defense stifled Algoma, forcing the Tbirds to stay outside the perimeter and find themselves in shot clock trouble. Algoma battled back getting within 8, holding Queen's to just 8 points in the second frame. Algoma outshot Queen's 15-8 in the second. The Thunderbirds shot 100 percent from the charity stripe and 39 percent from outside in the first half. Showing off their depth, the Gaels opened the second half with a 12-point run.
Gael Jenny Wright led the attack, driving Queen's to a comfortable 25-point cushion. Queen's allowed Algoma just 6 points in the third. Unable to keep pace with the nationally-ranked squad, Algoma fell 67-34.
Mackenzie Robinson led the squad with 10 points. Captain Karissa Kajorinne had 8 boards in the losing effort. Jenny White had 16 points and 4 rebounds for Queen's.
Carlie Manners was honoured this evening in the Seniors' Nights game. Manners will graduate cum laude from History. She has been with the squad for four years.
Source: Algoma Thunderbirds
'Wolves win 74-69 over Toronto
The women's basketball team found a way to win in their final home game of the season, 74-69 over the Toronto Varsity Blues.
After a sluggish start to the game, the 'Wolves closed out the first half strong, leading 31-27 at halftime.
Jerika Baldin made an impressive 12 assists in the win, but was limited to 1-of-7 shooting from the field. Foul trouble early in the game limited Baldin's minutes early, but Soulias stepped up to provide some stability at the point.
Lakehead had a 10 point lead for much of the second half, but the Blues crept back within striking distance late in the fourth. Luckily for Lakehead, their shooters were on point and responded with a three-ball from Soulias or O'Reilly whenever Toronto got within 4 or 5 points.
Toronto was short on players on Saturday, with just eight players dressed for the game, who were outnumbered by their coaches and training staff on the Blues' bench.
Coach Jon Kreiner:
The women's team completes their season next week on the road against Western and Windsor.
