OUA By the Numbers (Jan. 10)
1,000 – History was made on Saturday at the Ravens Nest as the Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team came out on top against the Toronto Varsity Blues, 66-44. Fifth year forward Heather Lindsay was a force to be reckoned with as always, chipping in with a double-double performance; a feat that included scoring her 1,000th U SPORTS point.
412 – The Laurier Golden Hawks will be saying farewell to a familiar face behind the bench, as women’s hockey head coach Rick Osborne announced that he will be retiring following the 2017-18 season. A career that spanned 15 seasons at the helm, Osborne coached nine OUA Championship teams; amassing 412 non-conference, regular season, and playoff wins along the way to rank 4th all-time amongst U SPORTS coaches.
41 – The OUA’s leading scorer was at it again this weekend, as Lakehead’s Leashja Grant led the Thunderwolves to a pair of victories thanks to back-to-back standout performances. The most noteworthy game came in the form of her career-high 41 point output, including the game’s deciding points with just 22 seconds left, to go along with 16 boards. Grant continues to lead the OUA in both scoring (23.2) and rebounding (13.7)
39 – One York Lion that is roaring loudly these days is basketball standout Lindsay Shotbolt, who sits in the top five in points, rebounds, and blocks per contest. While she continued her well-rounded efforts this weekend, she was most noticeable on the boards, amassing a dominant total of 39 rebounds in wins against Laurentian (14) and Nipissing (25).
31 – On the road this past weekend, the Brock Badgers were able to come away with a 4-2 win against the defending Queen’s Cup champion York Lions. In the victory, Brock’s starting goaltender Clint Windsor recorded 28 saves, moving him into second place all-time at Brock in the total win column with 31, surpassing Kurt Jory.
21 – After 21 seasons at the helm, long-time Western Mustangs men’s soccer coach Rock Basacco has decided to retire. His illustrious career saw his purple ponies reach the OUA playoffs every year, while also securing seven Ontario championships and a pair of national titles.
2 – For the first time in UOIT history, a member of the Ridgebacks made it to the final of the Ryerson Open, which features numerous OUA standouts. Zhiyi Cheng knocked off the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds respectively en route to his finals appearance, before bowing out to Toronto’s Jackie Yeung (21-15, 21-13). The 2nd place finish is the best ever for the Ridgebacks program.
1.3 – Erasing a 16-point halftime deficit, the Waterloo Warriors men’s basketball team was able to clinch a 67-65 victory against the Algoma Thunderbirds on Saturday with some last second heroics. Colin Connors got off the game-winning three-pointer with just 1.3 seconds left on the clock to beat the buzzer and sink the Thunderbirds.
1 – By defeating the Queen’s Gaels 5-2 this past weekend, the Laurentian Voyageurs women’s hockey team handed the Tricolour their first regulation loss of the OUA season. Prior to the loss, the Gaels had reeled off at least a point in their first 13 games of the 2017-18 campaign.