W-BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Golden Hawks soar through the weekend
Jenny Wright (Kingston, Ont.) led the No. 8 Gaels (1-1) to a 67-52 victory against Waterloo Warriors (1-3) in their OUA Home Opener Saturday evening at the ARC.
Friday, Nov. 14
Waterloo 52 @ Queen's 67
Jenny Wright (Kingston, Ont.) led the No. 8 Gaels (1-1) to a 67-52 victory against Waterloo Warriors (1-3) in their OUA Home Opener Saturday evening at the ARC.
It was a big night for Wright who scored 20 points for the Gaels and grabbed seven rebounds. The Gaels had top performances from Liz Boag (Kingston, Ont.) who contributed 12 points and Emily Hazlett(Fredericton, N.B.) who put up 10 points. The Warriors were led by Marti Killeen with eight points, seven rebounds and five turnovers as well as Amy Jarvais with seven points and five rebounds.
The Gaels had strong defence in the first half shutting down the Warriors attacks giving them the upper hand to grab an early eight point lead. The Warriors lost their edge in the first half thanks to committing twice as many turnovers at 12 compared to Queen's and their six. Despite Waterloo nearly matching them in shooting percentage, the Gaels were able to stay ahead of the Warriors by drawing fouls and sinking clutch shots at the end of both the first and second quarters to put Queen's ahead 33-22 at halftime. Wright managed to beat a defender and toss in a lay-up to close out the opening half.
The Gaels had a cascade of baskets as they opened up the second half getting a 16 point lead over the Warriors.Robyn Pearson (Toronto) was a force on all fronts for the Gaels in the second half, grabbing eight rebounds and sinking seven points. As the quarter closed Waterloo picked up their offensive play, outshooting the Gaels by a 25% margin in the third to close the gap to 48-42 going into the final frame.
Boag lit up the final quarter, splitting the defense and leading the Gaels on a 15-2 run. The Warriors kept up the pressure but missed the mark on their shooting while the Gaels drove and drew fouls to reach the charity stripe in what totaled 20 more times than Waterloo. By the final buzzer the Gaels had solidified their first win of regular season beating the Warriors 67-52.
Ottawa 89 @ Laurentian 49
The uOttawa Gee-Gees rode a hot shooting game to a 40-point road victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Friday night in Sudbury. Showing off their exceptional ability to score outside the paint, the Gee-Gees nailed 14 three-pointers en route to a 89-49 final score, their second straight game going over 80 points.
The mark of 14 threes eclipsed the old team record for makes in a game of 12 set in 2012.
Five Gee-Gees recorded double-digits on the night. The scoring was led by senior guard Stephanie MacDonald with 20 points, followed by Jennifer Stoqua with 14 (accounting for four of the threes), and Krista Van Singerland with 13, while Jen Crowe and Sarah Besselink each contributed 10 points off the bench.
The Gee-Gees again started five guards in the absence of top forwards, but it lent little advantage to the Voyageurs as the Gee-Gees sprinted past them to a 12-point lead after a relatively slow start that saw Laurentian lead.
Taking advantage of poor shooting on the part of the Voyageurs, just 28 per cent in the opening quarter, the Gee-Gees made good on 51 per cent of their own shot attempts. The Voyaguers were led by guard Adrienne Moreau who counted 14 points.
The Voyageurs turned it back on the Gee-Gees and clawed their way back into it, getting within three midway through the second quarter. But Laurentian couldn't hang with uOttawa for long as they found themselves down 20 at halftime.
Laurentian drew within 17 heading into the fourth quarter, giving them a shot at getting back in it. But uOttawa found another gear, using a 22-7 run to claim their largest lead and put the game away.
Despite the decided edge on the scoreboard, the Gee-Gees were unable to limit their turnovers in relation to the Voyageurs. They committed 24 compared the Voyageurs' 28.
The Gee-Gees moved the ball well with the majority of play coming from guards. However, their success shooting the ball from the floor (50 per cent) meant they hardly needed to attack the basket. As a result, Ottawa was limited to only three trips to the foul line.
Laurier 88 @ York 44
The York University Lions women's basketball team lost against the Laurier Golden Hawks by a score of 88-44 on Friday (Nov. 14) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The victory was inspired by the Golden Hawks' Whitney Ellenor, who scored the first basket of the game after an offensive rebound. Ellenor ended the contest with a game-high 16 points.
The Golden Hawks were efficient with the breakaways as the Lions committed several turnovers, most of which Laurier converted. Lee Anna Osei led the runs in scoring on the counter.
Despite a number of attempts by the Lions to turn the tide around, the first quarter ended with the home team trailing 24-11.
The Lions made a few highlights in the second quarter. Haley Bowie (Ancaster, Ont.) dribbled past three players and executed a lay-up in traffic. However, the Lions were unable to stop the opposition from capitalizing on the misses. With less than six minutes left, Laurier's Kaitlyn Schenck shot a three-point to make it a 20-point gap between the two teams.
The Lions' scoring drought was broken by a spectacular three-point shot from Emma Thompson(London, Ont.), but by halftime, the visiting team led by a score of 50-19.
Inside the third quarter, the Lions looked to diminish the gap by scoring 14. The Lions showed improvement with better ball movements and their plays were aided by turnovers committed by the opposition.
The quarter ended with the Golden Hawks still leading 71-33.
The final quarter saw the Lions lacking sharpness on possession, missing chances on the offence. They went scoreless for four minutes until Thompson, again, broke the drought with a shot from downtown.
Almost immediately after Thompson's heroics, Erika Di Loreto (London, Ont.) made a steal in half-court and recorded a basket on the breakaway. However, it was too little, too late as the Golden Hawks' rebounds were key to their victory. The team recorded a combined number of 38 rebounds.
Windsor 94 @ Toronto 65
The Varsity Blues women's basketball team fell 94-65 to the No. 1 Windsor Lancers in their 2014-15 home opener at the brand new Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport on Friday night (Nov. 14).
With the loss, the Blues drop to 1-2, while the Lancers improve to 3-0 so far this season.
Fifth-year guard Jasmine Lewin of Brampton, Ont., led the Blues with 14 points and six rebounds, with fellow veteran Julie Longauer and sophomore Rahshida Atkinson adding 10 points apiece in the loss.
"We had moments that I thought we played really well, then there were moments when we just kind of stopped doing what we wanted to do, what we needed to do and they got going," said Varsity Blues head coach Michèle Bélanger. "We just have to forget about this game and get ready, and we have to come out with a win tomorrow."
The Lancers got out to a 13-2 lead, but the Blues rallied and brought the game within five (19-14) in the last minutes of the opening quarter. Windsor had a 23-14 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
The visiting team extended the gap throughout the second quarter and a final three pointer from Carly Steer gave Windsor a 47-28 lead at halftime.
Longauer attempted to rally the troops with eight points in the third quarter, but the deficit proved too great as the Blues fell to the four-time national defending champions.
The Lancers were led by a game-high 20 points and nine boards from fifth-year guard and Windsor native Korissa Williams. Jocelyn LaRocque added 15 points, while Cheyanne Roger had 14 points and nine rebounds in the victory.
Carleton 75 @ Nipissing 28
The Lakers, despite a slow start, battled the much more experienced Ravens teams and show a tonne of heart throughout the match.
Lakers guard Claire Abbott led the attack with 11 points, while Sam Therrien and Shaudae Murray each scored five.
It seemed as the Lakers got better as the game went on, becoming more comfortable with the physicality and speed of the Ravens.
In the fourth quarter, the Ravens only outscored the Lakers by three, proving Nipissing had adjusted, especially in the second half.
Algoma 31 @ Brock 103
The Brock University women's basketball team (1-2 OUA) defeated the Algoma Thunderbirds (0-1 OUA), 103-31, in front of a sellout crowd for the Badgers 2014-2015 home opener.
The Badgers strong offense started the game with a 19-2 run in the opening six minutes. Brock wouldn't look back, scoring a season high 103 points, on route to their first conference victory of the season.
The Badgers used a balance offense that would see six players reach double-digits. Brock's scoring was led by Dayna Howlett who recorded a game-high 19 points, highlighted by 5-for-13 from beyond the arc. Jenalyn Yumol contributed with 16 points and six assists while rookie standout Melissa Tatti added 14 points and four assists. Katie Harpur, Kayla Santilli, and Becky Ralph rounded out the Brock leaders adding 13, 12 and 10 points respectively.
Leading the Thunderbird's scoring was Laura Meadows who added 15 points, going 6-for-12 from the field.
The Badgers shot 41.4% going 36-for-87 from the field, and recorded 39% (16-for-41) from beyond the arc. Brock shot 62.5% from the foul line, going 15-for-24. They also forced Algoma to 40 turnovers leading to 50 unanswered points.
Lakehead 75 @ McMaster 60
It may have been the drop in temperatures outside because the McMaster women's basketball team was ice-cold shooting the ball in a 75-60 loss to the Lakehead Thunderwolves Friday night in the Burridge Gym.
It may also have been too much Jylisa Williams, as the Lakehead guard put on a dominating performance to lead her team to an important road win. The Georgia native finished with 35 points and 19 rebounds and never let McMaster make a sustained run.
McMaster led 22-18 after the opening quarter, behind guard Danielle Boiago, who made a buzzer-beater from just over halfcourt to give momentum to the Maroon. But the second quarter saw Lakehead start to assume control, and with Boiago the only Marauder showing any offensive spark, the Thunderwolves took a 42-38 lead into the intermission.
The third quarter was even worse for McMaster as the Lakehead lead grew to 64-47 after 30 minutes. McMaster seemed rattled by Lakehead's full-court pressure and committed several turnovers, while continuing to struggle from the floor.
The Marauders could only close to within 12 in the fourth quarter, as Williams always seemed to have a big play to keep McMaster at bay. The win keeps Lakehead undefeated in the OUA Central, while McMaster falls to 2-1.
Along with Williams, the Thunderwolves got a solid 18 point game from their other U.S. import, Essa Jacobsen. Boiago was outstanding for the Marauders, finishing with 28. Rachael Holmes chipped in 11, but 9 of those came in the first quarter.
Lakehead dominated the battle of the boards and out-rebounded McMaster 44-27. Lakehead shot a whopping 29 free throws compared to only nine for the Marauders, which was a definite factor in the result.
Saturday, Nov. 15
Laurier 56 @ Queen's 53
The No.8 Gaels (1-2) were upset 56-53 by the Laurier Golden Hawks (3-1) on Saturday night in OUA women's basketball at the ARC in Kingston.
Jenny Wright (Kingston, Ont.) was once again a leader on offence for the Gaels finishing with a game high 20 points and nine rebounds while Robyn Pearson (Toronto) was one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds. The Golden Hawks were led by Whitney Ellenor who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
The Gaels struggled on offence in the opening quarters with the team shooting just 22% in the opening half. Wright was the lone bright spot for Queen's scoring six points in each frame to give her 12 on 4-10 shooting with six rebounds. After a 15-15 end to the first quarter each team only put up another 10 apiece to bring the score to 25-25 at the half. Nicole Morrison led the Golden Hawks with nine of her team's 25 in the first half.
The third quarter held true with the opening half as the two teams played strong defensively in another low scoring quarter. The Gaels did manage to take the upper hand however thanks to Wright who got the Gaels going with back-to-back buckets to put Queen's up 29-25. From there, the Gaels continued to stay just ahead of their opponents and ended the frame with a three point lead 37-34. The Gaels continued to out-rebound Laurier 48-33 after three quarters thanks to 10 from Pearson.
The Gaels opened up the final quarter cold offensively unable to convert their shots and allowing Laurier to take the lead. Sam Jacobs hit two consecutive buckets putting the visitors up 43-41. The Gaels found a way to battle back led by Emily Hazlett (Fredericton, N.B.) who drove to the hoop with her left hand and got the,lay-in and the foul putting the Gaels up 46-45. With under a minute left and the Gaels trailing by three Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.) hit a clutch three-pointer from the corner to even the game at 51-51. Fouls,put Laurier up three points in the final seconds and the,Golden Hawks held on for the 56-53 win.
Ottawa 92 @ Nipissing 13
The Ottawa Gee-Gees women's basketball team improved to 3-1 with a third consecutive victory, this one coming at the expense of the OUA's newest team, the Nipissing University Lakers. The Lakers struggled to face up against the faster and more experienced Gee-Gees who cruised to an easy 92-13 victory.
The Gee-Gees forced five second violations on the Lakers many times throughout the game as the Lakers struggled to inbound the ball and gave up countless second point opportunities to Ottawa. This season will be a growing experience for the Lakers as they continue to learn and gel as a team.
"It was a great experience playing there for the first time because their facilities are great and it is overall a great environment to play in. They are a young team and this is going to be a building year for them. But knowing their coach [Marg Jones], I know she is a great coach and will continue to do a great job with this group," said Gee-Gee Kellie Ring.
Stephanie MacDonald, Krista Van Slingerland, and Sarah Besselink led the way for the Ottawa offence, reaching double figures. The 92 points is the most in a Gee-Gees women's basketball game since 1981 when Ottawa set an OUA record with 119.
Carleton 57 @ Laurentian 60
The Laurentian Voyageurs exploded for 32 points in the fourth quarter to escape with a 60-57 over the Carleton Ravens.
Carleton put together a strong first half, outscoring Laurentian 28-14 going into halftime. They would continue to hold their lead throughout the second half (up by as many as 15 points in the third) before letting the game slip in the final minutes.
It was their ability to get to the foul line (they went 19-27, shooting 70%) and control the boards (outrebounding Laurentian 41-32) that allowed Carleton to build an early lead.
Laurentian finished strong the game strong however, scoring in bunches in the fourth quarter and hitting a three late in the frame to get their first lead of the game.
The Ravens were unable to build on their impressive performance on Friday against the Nipissing Lakers. Carleton shot just 30% from the floor, and simply could not hit from beyond the arc, going 0-8 in the game.
Lindsay Shotbolt (11 points, 14 rebounds) and Heather Lindsey (11 points, 12 rebounds) both finished with double-doubles. Lindsey Suprunchuk chipped in with 10 points, while Natasha Plaskacz finished with 9 (including shooting 7-9 from the free throw line).
Voyageur guard Danielle Harris was the offensive centerpiece for Laurentian, finishing with 25 points and going 11-14 from the free throw line. Devenae Bryce (10 points) and Meghan Forestell (14 points) provided the scoring support.
Algoma 44 @ Guelph 89
The Gryphon women's basketball team rolled to an 89-44 victory over Algoma in the home opener at the Mitchell Centre. Guelph would blow things wide open by outscoring Algoma 24-4 in the second quarter. Katelyn Yallin came off the bench and poured in a game-high 22 points on eight of 12 shooting to go with 12 rebounds. The Gryphons were lights out from beyond the arc, finishing 13-of-22 (59%). Jessica Morris was a big part of that success as all 12 of her points off the bench came from downtown (she was a perfect 4-for-4 from three point land). Bridget Atkinson was flirting with a triple double (8 pts, 9 ast, 8 reb) and the Gryphons held Algoma to just 24% shooting on the night.
Lakehead 59 @ McMaster 63
It was an important game against a division rival, so the McMaster women's basketball team ground out a tough 63-59 win over visiting Lakehead to split their weekend series.
The Marauders shot the ball better than they had the previous night, while defending and rebounding also improved. Behind their star Jylisa Williams, the Thunderwolves led after the first quarter 17-13, but the Marauders served notice that they would be much tougher defending the import from Atlanta.
The McMaster defense was outstanding in the second stanza, limiting Lakehead to only five points while the team scored 16 of its own to take a 29-22 lead into halftime. Williams was still tough to stop as she scored 13 of Lakehead's 22-point total. McMaster was a little more balanced in its attack with seven players hitting the scoresheet compared to Lakehead's four.
The third quarter saw McMaster push the tempo and the Maroon lead got up to 15 midway through the quarter. Then Lakehead turned up the full-court pressure and made a run that started to chisel down the Marauder lead. Heading into the fourth quarter, McMaster held a 50-41 advantage.
In the final period, Lakehead continued to press and McMaster also dealt with some foul trouble that shortened the bench. Marauder Clare Kenney made a couple of key baskets to maintain some space and Lakehead started to commit some fouls of its own, with the Marauders making their free-throws.
The Thunderwolves made a determined comeback but time ran out on them as McMaster held on for the victory.
McMaster's Kenney had another strong effort, setting a new personal scoring high with 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for a double-double. Danielle Boiago dropped 15, and made some key foul-shot at crunch time. Lakehead's Williams scored 34, while grabbing 11 boards, but was the only Lakehead player in double figures.
Western 58 @ Toronto 64
Three players hit double digits as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team defeated the Western Mustangs 64-58 on Saturday night (Nov. 15) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
With the win, the Blues improve to 2-2 and move into second place in the OUA East division. Western drops to 0-4 and sits tied for fourth in the OUA West.
Fifth-year guard Jasmine Lewin of Brampton, Ont., recorded a game-high 18 points, going 9-for-19 from the floor while adding six rebounds on the night.
Second-year guard Emily Piccini (Dundas, Ont.) added 13 points and seven rebounds, while fellow sophomore Diedre Edwards had 12 points. Two-time OUA all-star Jill Stratton of Etobicoke, Ont., notched nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds in the win.
The Blues got out to a 9-0 run and kept the Mustangs scoreless for the first five minutes of action. Western did get on the board but Toronto led 16-9 after the first quarter.
The Mustangs brought the game within four midway through the quarter but Diedre Edwards restored a comfortable cushion with four points late in the second. Western did end the first half on a 6-0 run, led by four points from Caroline Wolynski, and U of T took a 28-24 advantage into halftime.
Lewin and Edwards restored a 10-point advantage for the Blues early in the third quarter, but another 5-0 streak from Western brought the score within six (41-35) heading into the fourth quarter.
Two late free throws from Mackenzie Puklicz saw the Mustangs come within four (59-55) with 23 seconds remaining in the game, but that was as close as they would come.
Wolynski led the Mustangs with 17 points and eight rebounds, with Puklicz and Maddy Horst each adding 11 points in the loss.
Windsor 77 @ Ryerson 74
The Ryerson Rams women's basketball team was a buzzer-beater three ball shy of taking the No. 1 nationally ranked Windsor Lancers to overtime and ultimately came up just short of the upset by a score of 77-74.
Keneca Pingue-Giles (Winnipeg, Man.) had another big night for the Rams with a game-high 21 points while Sofia Paska (Etobicoke, Ont.) played her best game to date, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
"Our goal is to beat that team on March 15 when the national championship is," said head coach Carly Clarke following the game. "If we beat them today that would have been great for a ton of different reasons but we know we can now and it's a big builder of proof and evidence [of what] we are capable of."
Early on the game did not look like the exciting contest it shaped up to be. The Rams were sluggish out of the gate and trailed 17-3 midway through the quarter. However, a 9-0 run by the home side started to swing the momentum and the Rams were back within one at 19-18 before the quarter closed at 21-18 for the Lancers.
In the second, it was Windsor who started strong once again, going up by nine halfway through the frame. Ryerson had an answer once again, as a Sofia Paska jump shot tied the game up at 35-35 before a three-point play by Windsor's Jocelyn LaRocque ended the first half with the Lancers leading 38-35.
Ryerson started the third quarter on a 12-0 run and didn't allow a Windsor field goal for nearly four minutes to start the frame to take a 47-38 lead which energized the crowd at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Korissa Williams sparked a 12-0 run in response for Windsor as the Lancers took the lead right back at 50-47 with three minutes to play in the quarter. The two squads traded buckets to close the quarter tied at 53-53 heading into the fourth.
Back-to-back three pointers from Pingue-Giles gave the Rams an early four point lead in the quarter and Ryerson's lead grew to as many as eight when Annie Sokoloff (North Vancouver, B.C.) drained a baseline jumper to make it 63-55 with 7:35 reamining.
Once again it was the Lancers' Williams sparking a comeback for Windsor before Caitlyn Longmuir drained three three-pointers with less than two minutes to go. Longmuir's last three-ball gave Windsor a 74-71 advantage and the Lancers made some clutch free throws down the stretch to maintain the three point advantage.
On the last possession of the game, the Rams came down the floor with ten seconds remaining but could not get a last second buzzer beater to drop, ending the contest at 77-74.