Marauders beat Mustangs, advance to Critelli Cup Final Four

The McMaster women's basketball team defeated the Western Mustangs 82-54 in OUA quarter-final action on Saturday afternoon in Hamilton.  The win moves the Marauders into the OUA final-four being played March 3rd and 4th.

Having beaten the Mustangs by a large margin in the final conference game of the season last week, the Marauders needed to guard against complacency and they showed they were ready to play right from the tip-off.   McMaster jumped in front 10-4 to start the game, and carried a 21-8 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. 

The second quarter saw the Marauders use the long ball to build the lead.  Danielle Boiago knocked down a trey, and then Julia Hanaka came off the bench to hit consecutive triples and the lead blew up to 34-11, forcing Western to call a timeout.  By intermission, McMaster was in front 42-21 and well in control.

Needing to close the gap, Western switched to a zone defense in the third quarter, but McMaster kept on the pressure.  Getting contributions from the whole roster, the Marauders continued to play tough defense, and by the end of the third quarter, the Maroon lead stood at 30 at 64-34.

The fourth quarter saw Western make a push and McMaster seemed to relax, playing with the big lead.  It took five minutes of time off the clock before the Marauders got a bucket  from Rachael Holmes to make the score 66-41.  The Holmes hoop got the offense moving again and the Marauders closed out the 28-point victory.

Top shooter for McMaster was Hilary Hanaka with 16, while Boiago had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.  Clare Kenney added 11 and Holmes finished with 10 points.  Western was led by Victoria Heine with a game-high 18.

After the game McMaster presented a framed jersey as a tribute to Danielle Boiago, who likely played her final game in the Burridge Gym.  She is McMaster's all-time OUA leader in points and steals, second in assists, and third in rebounds.

The Marauders will wait for other playoff results before the match-ups in next week's OUA final-four are confirmed.

Source: McMaster Marauders