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McMaster University Athletics

HOME OF THE MCMASTER MARAUDERS
WBB - Harper - SF vs. Carleton
Rick Zazulak
58
Carleton CARLETON 18-5, 18-5
73
Winner McMaster MCMASTER 21-3, 21-3
Carleton CARLETON
18-5, 18-5
58
Final
73
McMaster MCMASTER
21-3, 21-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Carleton CARLETON 10 8 17 23 58
McMaster MCMASTER 18 23 17 15 73

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Fraser Caldwell, Sport Information Officer

Women's Basketball: Harper Returns for Revenge, as Marauders Take Down Ravens to Roll to OUA Final

McMaster qualified for a return trip to the U SPORTS Championship as well with Thursday’s 73-58 semifinal win

Revenge is a dish best served in an elimination game.

A season after watching the Carleton Ravens wash away their hopes of a first OUA title in a decade at Burridge Gym, the Marauders avenged that loss Thursday to storm back into the conference championship.

McMaster leveraged a dominant second quarter to build a 41-18 halftime lead, and ultimately come away with a 73-58 win over Carleton in the teams' OUA semifinal to return to the Critelli Cup final. In the process, the Marauders earned a return trip to the U SPORTS Championship tournament as well.

The no. 3 nationally-ranked Marauders head to Ottawa to battle the no. 1-ranked Gee-Gees for the Critelli Cup title, and likely prime seeding at the national championship as well, on Saturday, March 2. That title game will tip off at 4:00 p.m. and be webcast live on OUA.tv.

Returning to McMaster's lineup after missing the team's quarter-final victory over Brock, all-star forward Linnaea Harper was the co-leading scorer on the night with 16 points, and hit six of 11 shots from the field while adding six rebounds.

Matching her on the scoreboard, newly-minted all-star Sarah Gates was five of 15 from the field and hit four of her six attempts from the charity stripe.

Defence was the key to victory for McMaster Thursday, as the Marauders forced 17 turnovers and scored 21 points off of those, while committing just eight turnovers themselves. The hosts held a typically potent Ravens side to just 27.7 per cent shooting from the field (18-65) and a measly two of 19 from three-point range.

Early signs were positive for the Ravens, who jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the first quarter after a pair of buckets from Emma Kiesekamp. But McMaster snuffed that out quickly, embarking on a 15-1 run to close the first and roar into an 18-10 lead when Harper followed a Julia Hanaka triple with two underneath.

The turnaround proved to be an ominous sign for the Ravens, who were entirely out-classed in the second quarter as the Marauders outscored their opposition 23-8 and built a massive lead at the halftime break.

Carleton coach Taffe Charles called timeout less than three minutes into the quarter when a Gates three-pointer pushed Mac's lead to 11. The sit down did little to turn the tide, as the Marauders followed it with a 13-2 run to swell the lead to 22 after a layup from Marauders forward Olivia Wilson with 2:03 to play in the half.

Limping into the break facing a 23-point deficit, the Ravens emerged from the locker room with newfound purpose to open the third quarter, and ripped off a 12-4 run to cut the deficit to 15 at 45-30. But that was as close as the visitors would come Thursday, as the Marauders quickly re-asserted themselves to rebuild the lead to its halftime level through three quarters.

There was no miracle comeback to be had for the Ravens in the fourth, and after largely trading baskets with their opponents through much of the quarter, the Marauders removed their starters to standing ovations from the Burridge Gym crowd in the final minutes.
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