AROUND OUA: Hazlett's heroics push No. 4 Gaels over No. 8 Rams 60-59

SCOREBOARD

Queen's 60 @ Ryerson 59

York 57 @ Toronto 67

Lakehead 93 @ Laurentian 59

Western 43 @ Algoma 51

Guelph 71 @ Nipissing 47

Hazlett's heroics push No. 4 Gaels over No. 8 Rams 60-59

TORONTO (February 3, 2017)- Emily Hazlett picked up the game-winning basket with seconds remaining in regulation, and the Queen's Gaels women's basketball team held off a fourth-quarter comeback from their division rivals, topping the Ryerson Rams 60-59 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Friday evening.

GAME FLOW
Hazlett (Fredericton, N.B.) totalled a game-high 15 points to go along with four rebounds, four steals, and three assists for the U SPORTS No. 4 ranked Gaels (15-0), who remain the only undefeated team in the nation, while the No. 8 Rams (12-4) remain second in the OUA East division.

Robyn Pearson (Toronto) added 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.) picked up 11 points and four steals in the victory.

After leading by as many as 15 points midway through the third quarter, the host Rams surged offensively in the final quarter, scoring 27 points in the final 10 minutes. Ryerson went on a 16-2 run to open the fourth and managed to even the match for the first time since the opening period at 58-58 with just under a minute remaining. After Hazlett notched what turned out to be the game-winning bucket on a tough drive and pull-up, the Rams could not convert on a short jumper to pull ahead before time ran out.

Both the Gaels and Rams struggled offensively throughout the contest, showing 30.1% and 32.3% respectively from the field while combining for just five baskets from beyond the arc. The Gaels out-rebounded the Rams 57-48, and picked up 18 second-chance points off of 20 offensive boards.

BY THE NUMBERS
5- Robyn Pearson picked up her fifth double-double of the season
5- The points difference in the two games played between Queen's and Ryerson. The Gaels defeated the Rams 79-75 in overtime at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) on January 13
15- Emily Hazlett's 15 points was a season-best

UP NEXT
The Gaels remain in the provincial capital to take on the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday, and return to the ARC next weekend to host Carleton and Ottawa.

Source: Queen's Gaels

Blues deliver win in School Day showdown

In front of a capacity crowd of 1800 students from across the GTA, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team picked up an important 67-57 School Day win over the visiting York Lions on Friday afternoon (Feb. 3) at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

With the win, the Varsity Blues improve to 7-8 on the season, sitting in third place in the OUA East just ahead of the now 5-11 Lions.

The back court duo of second-year guard Keyira Parkes and fourth-year team scoring leader Rahshida Atkinson proved to be an effective offensive attack for the Blues with the pair scoring 16 and 15, respectively. Parkes especially shined in the second half where a deep three sparked a Varsity Blues run, a big block from the diminutive guard brought the crowd to their feet, and an and-one effort late in the fourth quarter helped secure the Toronto victory.
 
On the boards second-year forward Charlotte Collyer led U of T with eight rebounds, while adding eight points. 

As well, fellow second-year forward Sarah Bennett delivered a strong performance off the bench shooting an efficient 4-for-6 from the floor for nine points on the afternoon.

Lions guard Ishanaa Seupersadsin led all players with 17 points, while adding seven rebounds and two steals. 

The Varsity Blues are right back at it tomorrow evening as they welcome the No. 4 Queen's Gaels to the Goldring Centre for Toronto's home finale. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the game also being streamed live on OUA.tv.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues

Thunderwolves stomp Voyageurs

The Lakehead women's basketball team (5-9) beat the Laurentian University Voyageurs (3-13) tonight, 93-59 in Sudbury.

"This was a very big game for both teams as far as playoff consideration goes. Our energy and focus was on point and we came ready to play. It helped that we shot the ball very well but I think it's a reflection of our attitude and readiness." – Coach Kreiner

The Voyageurs and Thunderwolves started the first quarter point for point but towards the end of the quarter, Lakehead began to pull away going on a run. The 'Wolves finished the first leading 21-13.

Lakehead began the second with a quick 8 points and continued their momentum for the duration of the quarter. The 'Wolves were up 47-30 at the half.

By the middle of the third quarter, the 'Wolves were up 38 points. Lakehead outscored Laurentian 46-29 in the second half, which gave them the 93-59 win.

"Rookie Lily Gruber-Schulz was terrific for us. She's taken advantage of the injuries and has been getting better every game. Jerika still amazes me with her ability to pass and find the open players in positions to be successful. Great team win and now we have to finish the weekend positively tomorrow." – Coach Kreiner

Lily Gruber-Schulz led the 'Wolves with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals in 29 minutes. The 'Wolves had 4 other players score in the double digits including Bridget O'Reilly with 16 points, Nikki Ylagan with 14 and Rachel Webber and Gillian Lavoie with 13 and 10.

Jerika Baldin had 13 assists and 9 rebounds.

Lakehead shot 58% from the field compared to Laurentian's 31% and overall the 'Wolves scored 23 points off of Laurentian's turnovers.

The Thunderwolves will now head to North Bay to take on the Nipissing Lakers tomorrow at 6pm.

Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves

Thunderbirds earn second win of season

The Algoma Thunderbirds women's basketball team picked up their first win of 2017 this evening at the George Leach Centre. In their annual Shoot for the Cure event, the Thunderbirds ran past the Western Mustangs 51-43.
 
Karissa Kajorinne led the Thunderbirds in the win with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Sydney Resch and Karina Cole also earned double digits.
 
The Thunderbirds shot 34.6 per cent from the field and went 7-10 from the line.

"It's great on such a special night - our 'Shoot for the Cure' - we were able to come together to pull out the win. Everyone was playing for someone tonight it's just a good feeling on an important night," said Head Coach Ryan Vetrie. 
 
Julia Curran led the Mustangs with 16 points and 6 rebounds.

Algoma improves to 2-13 in the OUA West.
 
The Thunderbirds continue their home stand against the Mustangs tomorrow evening at 6:00pm.

Source: Algoma Thunderbirds

Gryphons Dominate in Road Win Over Nipissing

NORTH BAY, ON - Friday night in North Bay, the Gryphons women's basketball team matched a season-high with 71 points and picked up a convincing 24-point victory over the Nipissing Lakers. With the result, the Gryphons have now won two of their last three games and improve to 3-12 on the season. With the loss, Nipissing falls to 1-15.

The Gryphons set the tone physically Friday night, out-rebounding the Lakers 45-34 and earning a total of 30 trips to the free throw line (compared to just 16 for Nipissing). The 20 made free throws and 30 free throw attempts by U of G were both season-highs. The Gryphs were able to build up an 11-point lead heading into the locker room, with third year guard Samantha Renshaw (Fort Erie, ON) scoring 11 of her 13 points in the opening 20 minutes of play. Fellow third year guard Haley Belyk (Regina, SK) finished the night with a game-high 16 points while also recording team-highs in both rebounds (8) and steals (4).  

The Gryphs also received some solid contributions off the bench from sophomores Abbey Clark and Sarah Holmes. Clark poured in 11 points on an efficient 4-of-7 shooting, while Holmes filled up the stat sheet with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. The U of G bench outscored the Nipissing bench 20-9.

The Gryphons will now look to sweep their northern Ontario road trip on Saturday night when they head to Sudbury to face the 3-13 Laurentian Voyageurs.

Source: Guelph Gryphons