THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Heading into the season the Ontario Tech women's basketball team didn't know where they would fit into the OUA scene, but after 22 games they know they're in the mix and are a competitive squad.
Their 1-21 record doesn't show it, nor does the 82-53 loss to end the campaign against the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday night, but the Ridgebacks were competitive.
They easily could've finished with four wins in their inaugural season, losing 55-54 to the Toronto Varsity Blues on the final play of the game in November, going to overtime to lose 75-70 to Algoma in January and falling 63-62 on a buzzer beater to the Laurentian Voyageurs a week ago.
That said, those were all games where lessons were learned as part of the first-ever basketball season at Ontario Tech and their 77-70 win over the Waterloo Warriors on February 1 is one they will never forget.
On Friday night it was Sofia Lluch's double-double that gave Ontario Tech the most trouble as she dropped a game-high 25 points with a game-high 14 boards to lead Lakehead to victory.
Ontario Tech looked to
Aprille Whyne (Montreal, Que.),
Vanessa Budimunda (Montreal, Que.) and
Hadeza Ismaila (Ottawa, Ont.) who all contributed 10 points apiece for the Ridgebacks. Budimunda also finished the game with 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the year.
The Ridgebacks will now have until the fall to add to their inaugural roster and prepare for the 2020-21 season, while the OUA basketball postseason gets underway next week.
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Dalyssa Fleurgin led the Ridgebacks in scoring with 234 points (11.1 PPG).
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Vanessa Budimunda had a team-high 135 boards this season.
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Christine Yogaretnam led with 30 assists.
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Dalyssa Fleurgin also led Ontario Tech with 34 steals and 15 blocks.
Overall Record: 1-24
Conference Record: 1-21
