OUA Women's Basketball Roundup (Nov. 13)
November 8, 2017
York 54 Guelph 73
GUELPH, Ont. – Wednesday night in their regular season home opener, the Guelph Gryphons women's basketball team used a dominant defensive performance to a pick up a convincing 73-54 victory over the visiting York Lions at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre. The Gryphons, who forced a season-high 31 turnovers on the night, blew things wide open in the third quarter, outscoring York 21-9. Fourth year guard Megan Brenkel led all scorers with 22 points and helped lead the Gryphons to a second consecutive win following the team's road win over the Ottawa Gee-Gees last weekend in the nation's capital. With Wednesday night's result, the Gryphons now sit at 2-3 on the young season while the Lions fall to 1-3.
"It was a great defensive team effort tonight," said Gryphons head coach Mark Walton. "That run that we went on in the 3rd was driven entirely by what we were able to do defensively, with 12 of the 31 turnovers we forced coming in that quarter. It was great to see the level of intensity we had on that side of the ball."
Helping lead the way defensively was rookie guard Skyla Minaker who finished with a team-high 5 steals. Burke Bechard and Haley Belyk were causing the Lions fits throughout the night, constantly getting a hand in the passing lanes while senior forward Quincy Sickles-Jarvis came off the bench to provide a spark with her defensive energy.
The Gryphons were able to cap off the third quarter in style when Brenkel knocked down a three pointer at the buzzer to provide an exclamation point on the 21-9 run. Brenkel finished the night an efficient 7-13 from the floor and 3-4 from beyond the arc. "Megan showed great poise tonight and made really good decisions offensively all night long," said Walton. "She attacked when we needed her to, and she made a number of shots under pressure."
The Gryphons as a team shot 40% from the field and also knocked down 7 triples. Rookie guard Burke Bechard scored 14 points, while third year guard Sarah Holmes (Welland, ON) just missed a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Source: gryphons.ca
Brock 58 Ryerson 81
It was standing room only at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Wednesday evening, as a plethora of Ryerson fans flooded their home court to watch their beloved women’s basketball team defeat the Brock Badgers. The sheer magnitude of the fans present was felt throughout the contest, escalating to a point which bordered on consistent deafening roar.
Through this positive atmosphere, Williams would go on to be a dominating force under the basket all night, acquiring five total rebounds, three blocks and a steal to cap off her evening.
The first quarter of play was heavily contested between the two teams, with both consistently dominating the baseline on the offensive end, but for diametrically opposed reasons. For the Rams, it was evident from the initial tip off that their backcourt, and perimeter defensive pressure had markedly improved since the weekend road trip. Several potential Brock offensive efforts were, in essence, halted at the half-court line. However, the Rams seemed to consistently lack defense upon the baseline, allowing several easily acquired buckets from the Badgers from their larger forwards.
Offensively however, the Rams seemed to be overzealous in their attempts, overshooting several passing efforts and failing to connect on several field goal attempts. However, these shortcomings were more than made up for by the Rams utilization of their forwards, with Sofia Paska (Etobicoke, Ont.) and Williams dominating the paint offensively, and Rams guards taking advantage of clear drives into the lane.
However, it was in the second quarter that the Rams would fully come alive. Throughout the second quarter, the Rams would consistently dominate in virtually all aspects of play, outscoring the Badgers 16-8 throughout the quarter, and increasing the intensity with which they approached the acquisition of defensive and offensive rebounds. This in combination with the fact that the Rams made good use of full-court defensive pressure, forcing the Badgers to utilize elaborate ball movement plays to simply progress offensively. While the problems of the first quarter persisted, namely a lack of defensive baseline presence and overzealous passing efforts, the Rams were able to find ways around these shortcomings making their playing style difficult to combat for the visiting Badgers.
The remainder of the game would take on a very similar tone. Throughout the third quarter, the Rams possessed a better conversion rate on both field goal and three-point attempts compared to the Badgers, and their full-court defensive pressure seemed to wear at the visiting team as turnovers increased exponentially over time. Heading into the fourth, the Badgers did all they could to maintain themselves in the game, but it was far too little, far too late and the Rams were able to run away with an easier win at home.
Next up, the Rams will be facing the McMaster Marauders, a fairly middle of the road team that shares a similar record to the Rams currently.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
November 10, 2017
Windsor 89 Western 62
In their first game of a five game road trip, the Lancer women's basketball team headed up the 401 to London and used a strong second half to cruise past the Western Mustangs 89-62.
The Lancers remain undefeated with a 4-0 record and sit atop the west division standings while the Mustangs move to 3-2 and sits in third.
GAME STATS
Emily Prevost recorded a double-double, scoring 24 points while bringing down 14 rebounds for the Lancers. Carly Steer led all scorers with 24 points with 21 of them coming from behind the arc.
Julia Curran led the way for the Mustangs with 19 points on 8/12 shooting.
The Lancers shot 10/28 from behind the three-point line while only surrounding one successful three point shot, going 1/13.
GAME FLOW
The Lancers were sluggish out of the gate, struggling to score consistently and never getting a firm grip on the Mustangs. Despite this, Windsor led after the first 10 minutes of play, 19-17.
In the second quarter the Lancers would found more success. Olivia Osamusali was able to give Windsor a few extra possessions with seven first half rebounds. The Lancers out-rebounded the Mustangs 25 to 7. Windsor's dominance on the boards went a long way in allowing an offense that only shot 34 per cent to score. The Lancers went into the break up 44-31.
In the second half, the Lancers' offense came out of the break with a new efficiency; improving its shooting percentage behind big performances from Steer and Prevost. The duo scored 14 and 16 points in the second half respectively. Prevost also put forth a fantastic effort on the glass, pulling down a team leading 14 rebounds. The Lancers used the extra possessions and a second half field goal shooting performance of 50 per cent to cruise past the Mustangs 89-62.
Source: golancers.ca
Carleton 76 Waterloo 39
WATERLOO, ON — The Ravens extended their season-opening winning streak to three games on Friday with a 76-39 win over the Waterloo Warriors at the Physical Activities Complex (PAC).
Fifth-year forward Heather Lindsay (Ottawa, ON) had an All-Canadian performance with 17 points and 17 rebounds for second double-double of the campaign.
GAME FLOW:
Carleton began the game on an 8-0 run with a fluid offence and a suffocating defence. Lindsay scored three baskets early on, and Elizabeth Leblanc (London, ON) knocked down the Ravens’ lone triple of the quarter in a low-scoring quarter. Just as they had done in their two previous games, the Ravens opened up a double-digit lead over their opponent after one, leading the host Warriors, 18-7.
The Ravens further increased their lead in the second, as senior guard Steph Carr(Stittsville, ON) connected from downtown to make it 27-9 for the visitors. With under five seconds to play in the frame, Jenjen Abella (Hamilton, ON) took the wind out of the Warriors’ sails by knocking down Carleton’s third triple of the half to give the Ravens a 37-16 advantage after two.
Waterloo held Carleton in check in the third, limiting the Ravens to 15 points in the frame. However, the Warriors were unable to break down Carleton’s OUA-leading defence at the opposite end of the floor. Cynthia Dupont (Coaticook, QC) scored five straight points for the Ravens midway through the period as the Ravens would take a 52-26 scoreline into the fourth.
Carleton would light the Warriors up for 24 points in the final frame thanks to a nine-point outburst from forward Alyssa Cerino (Stoney Creek, ON).
Source: goravens.ca
Brock 46 Toronto 71
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team came up with a big 71-46 victory over the Brock Badgers in their 2017 home opener on Friday night (Nov. 10) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
With the win, the Blues improve to 2-2, while the Badgers drop to 2-4 in the early goings of the OUA season.
Third-year guard Keyira Parkes led all players with 15 points, going 6-for-7 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, while adding three boards, two assists and one steal on the night.
A trio of Blues notched 12 points. Sophomore guard Nada Radonjic recorded 12 points, five rebounds, two steals and one assist, while fifth-year veteran Rahshida Atkinson had 12 points, three steals, two boards and one assist. Rookie guard Christine Jurcau also tallied 12 points, adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win.
The game started as a back-and-forth affair until four straight points from Atkinson and a three pointer from Parkes gave the Blues a nine-point cushion. Parkes led Toronto with eight points in the first frame as U of T took a 23-12 lead into the second quarter.
Toronto maintained at least an 11-point advantage throughout the second quarter and led 38-25 at halftime.
The Blues outscored the Badgers 13-10 in the third quarter, leading 51-35 heading into the final frame. U of T opened the fourth on a 7-0 run to cruise to the lopsided victory.
Brock was led by Stephanie Findlay's 11 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
Source: varsityblues.ca
Laurentian 46 Lakehead 88
The Lakehead women’s basketball team (2-1) took down the Laurentian Voyageurs (1-2) in a convincing 88-46 win tonight in the Thunderdome.
Lakehead opened the game with a 24-8 lead in the first quarter and continued to put up big numbers leading 45-25 at the half. Holding the Voyageurs to only 6 points in the third, the Thunderwolves momentum ultimately carried them to the 88-46 win.
Leashja Grant had a solid game with 26 points, 12 rebounds. Nikki Ylagan had 14 points and Jerika Baldin had 13, going 3-4 from the three.
The Thunderwolves bench contributed a strong 35 points and the Wolves went 85% from the free throw line.
Source: thunderwolves.ca
Queen’s 72 Algoma 59
SAULT STE MARIE, Ont. (November 10, 2017) - The No.10 Queen's Gaels (4-0) took down the Algoma Thunderbirds (0-5) 72-59 in their lone game of the weekend to stay undefeated on the season.
GAME FLOW
After the two teams were deadlocked through the opening quarter, the Gaels were finally able to pull away from the winless Thunderbirds in the second.
Queen's saw a strong second frame from Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.) who finished with 15 points and four steals in the victory. Heading into halftime Queen's had opened up a nine point lead.
The Gaels put Algoma away in the third quarter, outscoring the Thunderbirds 23 to 14 in the frame to extend their lead to 18 heading into the final quarter.
From there Queen's closed things out with a 72-59 victory.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
McMaster 71 Ryerson 83
TORONTO, ONT. – It was a victorious night for the Ryerson Rams women’s basketball team, as they pulled off their second win on home court, overcoming the McMaster Marauders 83-71 in front of a packed Mattamy Athletic Centre.
While the first quarter of play ended with the Rams on top, the course of play certainly did not showcase that result. Throughout the first ten minutes, the home team made effective use of their forwards, specifically Sofia Paska (Etobicoke, Ont.) to penetrate a lack lustre Marauders baseline defense. This was coupled with an initial Rams defensive effort that prevented zone-penetration from the visiting team.
Unfortunately for the Rams, the Marauders would provide problems from the perimeter and beyond. On the defensive end, McMaster had found a formula for stultifying the Rams offensive pushes, through the utilization of an extended three-two defensive formation that began off the in-bounds and collapsed into a perimeter-concentrated effort that worked to stop lane-drives from the three point line. Offensively, the Marauders seemed at home beyond the three-point line, taking advantage of open looks on the perimeter.
Much like the first, the second quarter saw Ryerson both dominate and falter in the span of ten minutes. As the quarter began, it seemed as though the Rams were still unadjusted to the full-court defensive pressure provided by the visiting team; making it up the court was still a challenge and once on the offensive, turnovers were abundant. The Rams were eventually able to find a solution to this however, and seemed to prioritize quicker ball movement to advance beyond the half-court line. On top of this, the Rams showcased a greater degree of offensive connectivity, acquiring points from everywhere on the court.
However, the Marauders were relentless in their pursuit of a win on the night. Throughout the second and third quarter of play, McMaster outscored the Rams 19-15 and 23-20 respectively, forcing the home team to put away the contest early in the fourth quarter.
And thankfully for the fans in attendance on Friday night, the Rams were able to do just that. As the quarter began, it seemed as though nothing that the Marauders threw at the home team seemed to phase them. Throughout the final quarter of play, the visiting team attempted to pick up their full-court defensive pressure, but to no avail as the Rams had made the adjustments necessary to combat this. Additionally, the Rams offensive connectivity only intensified in the final quarter of play, as they made half of all of their three-point and field goal attempts.
One Ram who really stood out tonight, was freshman guard Leyki Sorra (Toronto, Ont.) who finished the night with twelve points, two rebounds, and two assists.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Ottawa 83 Laurier 87
WATERLOO, Ont. (November 10, 2017) - On Friday night, fans at the Athletic Complex in Waterloo were treated to a barnburner of a women’s basketball game between the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks and the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Featuring a special performance by Laurier guard Nicole Morrison (Hamilton, Ont.), the Hawks squeaked out a 87-83 win over the Ottawa Gee-Gees in double-overtime.
Entering the game, Morrison only needed to score eight points to reach 1000 for her career. It didn’t take long. The fifth-year sharpshooter knocked down a three-pointer in the second quarter which cemented her place in the exclusive 1000-point club, joining alumni Meaghan McGrath, Renata Adamczyk and Kaitlyn Schenck. Morrison finished as the high scorer for the game, amassing 21 points in addition to distributing a team-high six assists. She is now just six points back of Schenck for the third-most points in team history.
Morrison had significant support on the offensive end as three other Hawks scored in double figures. Jill Condron(Oakville, Ont.), Maya Day (Kitchener, Ont.) and Lauren Jamieson (Oakville, Ont.) had 16,15, and 11 respectively. In addition to her scoring, Jamieson led the Hawks on the glass by collecting eight rebounds.
For Ottawa, the Gee-Gees were led by Brigitte Lefebvre-Okanku (Gatineau, Que.) who scored 19 points and pulled down six boards. Defensively, Kellie Forland (Shawinigan, Que.) was a thorn in the Hawks side. The fifth-year guard totalled five steals in her first game back from injury, having been out for the first two games of the season.
The story of the game was the superb defensive play of the Hawks in key situations. The Gee-Gees had two glorious opportunities to win the game, once by having the final possession of a tie-game in regulation and then having the final-possession of the first overtime. Both times the Hawks defence was up to the task. The end of regulation featured stifling pressure forcing a missed shot by Forland. Similarly, following a clutch game-tying jumper by Condron with 14 seconds left in the first overtime, the Hawks strapped up defensively and strongly contested a missed layup by Brooklyn McAlear (Ottawa, Ont.).
With the win, the Hawks improve to 3-1 on the season while the Gee-Gees fall to 1-2. While Ottawa will head down the street for a date with the Waterloo Warriors tomorrow night, the Hawks are staying put to get ready for a matchup with the number four team in the country. The Carleton Ravens invade the Athletic Complex tomorrow evening for a 6:00 pm tip-off in what could be another milestone night for Morrison.
Source: laurierathletics.com
November 11, 2017
McMaster 71 Toronto 47
Saturday night marked the final game of a four-game road trip for the McMaster women's basketball team and they'll be heading home having split those games after defeating the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in a convincing 71-47 victory.
The matchup with the varsity Blues is always a homecoming for Marauders head coach Theresa Burns, who returned to her alma mater to take on her former coach, Michele Belanger, who is in her 39th season.
The opening quarter was a game of treys as the Marauders kicked into high gear from beyond the arc in the early minutes of the quarter, building a 22-11 lead after 10 minutes.
Throughout the course of the game, the Marauders stuck to their game-plan of launching from the three-point line, which allowed them to spread the floor against the Blues.
As a result of the Marauders early advantage, McMaster head coach Theresa Burns was able to share minutes, allowing many of her bench players to continue the pace and put up some solid numbers in the victory.
Through four quarters, the Marauders managed to outscore Toronto in each of them as the Varsity Blues would struggle to get any element of their offence going to give them a spark of momentum.
McMaster rookie Sarah Gates managed to excel for McMaster as she would come off the bench and lead the Marauders with a career-high 16 points on the night on five of nine shooting from the field. Perhaps the most impressive part of her stat line from the night was her completing 75% of her three-point shot attempts. Jelena Mamic added 11, with Linnaea Harper and Lexie Spadafora each scoring 10.
Source: marauders.ca
Nipissing 42 Lakehead 74
The Lakehead women’s basketball team (3-1) won 74-42 against the Nipissing Lakers (1-2) on home court tonight.
The Wolves started the game with high intensity and tough defence putting on some full court pressure. Lakehead was able to force Nipissing to turn the ball over resulting in some easy transition points that pushed a big lead for the Wolves.
Lakehead held Nipissing to just 16 points in the first half and continued their momentum until the final buzzer.
Lakeheads’ 2017 rookie of the year, Nikki Ylagan had a big night with 17 points, 4 steals and 2 assists. Leashja Grant had 14 points, 10 rebounds and Tianna Warwick-Dawkins put up 10 points.
The Thunderwolves are back on the road next weekend and will face the Algoma Thunderbirds in a double header.
Source: thunderwolves.ca
York 86 Algoma 46
The York University Lions women's basketball team earned a huge 40-point win over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Saturday night, winning 86-46 at the George Leach Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
The game started with missed opportunities on both sides, and the quarter remained scoreless until the end of the second minute. Katrina Collins-Samuels added the first two points for the Lions by making both her free throws, immediately followed by a successful layup. The Lions used this momentum to storm ahead of the Thunderbirds for the remainder of the quarter, finishing with a 25-11 lead.
The Lions showed no sign of slowing down in the second and continued keeping the action in front of the Thunderbirds' net. Haley Bowie scored a trio of three-pointers alone, which was crucial to the Lions' effort to extend their lead. At halftime, the Lions had a huge lead of 45-20 over the Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds stepped up their defensive game in the third quarter, only allowing the Lions to score 16 points whereas every other quarter they scored over 20. This changed in the fourth quarter as the Lions were able to score 25 points to the Thunderbirds' 13 and finish the game with an 86-46 win.
Lindsay Shotbolt was once again the top scorer for the Lions, pouring in 21 points. Bowie and Collins-Samuel also earned an impressive number of points with 14 and 12, respectively. Shotbolt had nine rebounds and Collins-Samuel had eight, the two highest totals on the team.
Point and rebound leader for the Thunderbirds was Karina Cole with nine points and six rebounds, followed closely by Cassandra Cushnie and Sydney Resch with eight points each and Marlee Ball with five rebounds.
The Lions have now improved to a 2-3 season record, and the Thunderbirds now sit at 0-6 for the regular season.
Source: yorkulions.ca
Ottawa 58 Waterloo 36
After beginning the game down 5-1, the Gee-Gees women’s basketball team rallied and overpowered the Waterloo Warriors to earn a 58-36 win on Saturday night.
The Gee-Gees looked comfortable and in command throughout the game, something that has been missing from their play since the pre-season. The frenzy that has marred the Gee-Gees’ last two games was replaced with calm and solid efforts on both ends of the floor.
Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu led the Gee-Gees for the second night in a row with 11 points and eight rebounds. Despite early struggles from beyond the arc, Amelie Hachey improved her shooting percentage later in the game, finishing with 10 points.
Third-year transfer forward Angela Ribarich continued to find her place and significance on the Gee-Gees’ roster. Ribarich finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
The Gee-Gees took great advantage of the size advantage they held on the Warriors in the game. With the fantastic play of Lefebvre-Okankwu and Ribarich in the post, Ottawa showed the kind of dominant potential that has been hiding beneath the surface for the past two weeks. If the team can more consistently tap into this power, they could reach their potential sooner rather than later this season.
Source: geegees.ca
Carleton 77 Laurier 50
WATERLOO, ON – The Carleton Ravens shot the lights out from three-point territory and buckled down defensively in the second half to cap off their Waterloo road swing with 77-50 victory over the WLU Golden Hawks at the WLU Athletic Complex on Saturday night.
Fourth-year forward Elizabeth Leblanc (London, ON) scored a game-high 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting while grabbing six rebounds and swatting two shots in 28 minutes of action for the Ravens.
Carleton improves to 4-0 on the season after picking up two victories in Waterloo this weekend.
GAME FLOW:
The Ravens struck first in the opening quarter, racing out to a quick 5-0 lead within the first two minutes of the game thanks to a three-pointer by point guard Jenjen Abella (Hamilton, ON). The Golden Hawks battled back to get within three points at the 3:30 mark after Irena Rynkiewicz hit a baseline jumper to trim the score to 10-7. Carleton closed out the frame on a 9-0 that was punctuated by a buzzer beating three by freshman Madison Reid (Carleton Place, ON).
The pace of the game slowed in the second as both squads struggled to break the other’s perimeter defence. Halfway through the frame guard Stephanie Carr (Stittsville, ON) hit a three, which was quickly followed by a fast-break layup by Leblanc that pushed Carleton’s lead to 29-15 with four minutes left until halftime. WLU was able to reduce the deficit to 37-26 at the half after Nicole Morrison hit a three pointer and assisted a layup by Alex Spadaro to close out the second.
Carleton’s starters ignited the Ravens to begin the third quarter. Leblanc opened the half with a quick turnaround jumper and fifth-year center Heather Lindsay (Ottawa, ON) dropped in a soft baby hook to cue a strong start. WLU managed to hang around with the Ravens and fought to shrink the gap to 46-38 with 5:45 left in the quarter. With the lead in question, head coach Taffe Charles turned to his bench. Cynthia Dupont (Coaticook, QC) and Alyssa Cerino (Stoney Creek, ON) combined to score 14 of Carleton’s final 15 points in the last six minutes of the quarter to extend the Ravens’ lead to double digits entering the fourth.
The fourth quarter showcased why the Ravens allowed the fewest points per game in the nation last season. Carleton’s rotations tightened and thwarted several drives by the Golden Hawks. WLU managed just six points in the final 10 minutes.
Source: goravens.ca
