OUA Women's Basketball Roundup (Dec. 4)

December 4, 2017

November 29, 2017

York 60 Queen’s 71

KINGSTON, Ont (November 29, 2017) - The Gaels (8-1) put on a show with a 71-60 victory over the York Lions (4-6) in front of a special School-Day crowd comprised of 1,800 elementary students from 26 schools across Kingston.

GAME FLOW
Emma Ritcey (Orillia, Ont), opened the game up with a wide-open floater to put the Gaels on the board first. Veronika Lavergne(Ottawa, Ont), added 2-more points from the paint. Feeding off the rowdy crowd, Andrea Priamo (Guelph, Ont) knocked down a second chance bucket.

York would retaliate with an and-1 to keep the game close. Neither team able to get a stop on defense, the Lions would take the lead off a 6-0 run.

Gaels rookie Sophie De Goede (Victoria, B.C.) ended the run of the Lions, nailing a put-back jumper. A late quarter charge saw the Tricolour begin to close the gap, but a buzzer-beater 3-pointer made it a 7-point deficit for the Gaels by the end of the first quarter.

Coming out strong in the second frame, Lavergne opened the quarter with a layup. Marianne Alarie (Sudbury, Ont), who struggled to score early, found the hoop off a quick layup. Not backing down, the Lions capitalized on the second-chance baskets to push the gap. The Gaels began to get grittier late in the second quarter, pushing to get to the free-throw line. Lavergne was 4-8 from the line in the final minutes before the half. Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.) added a 3-pointer to her stat-line to cut the deficit to 1, but York responded yet again with a buzzer-beater 3-pointer. Entering halftime, the Gaels trailed by four at 36-32.

The Tricolour were looking to find a rhythm in the second half, only shooting an uncharacteristic 27.3% in the first frame. Dixon put up another layup to kick off the third quarter. A big three off the hands of Ritcey would tie the game up.

Relentless in the paint, de Goede drove in to hit a clutch layup in traffic. Lavergne looked to be the focal-point of the Gaels offense, adding 2-more off an assist from Dixon. Another de Goede would make it a 10-0 run for Queen's, forcing York to take a timeout. The Gaels played hard man-to-man defense, to not allow York to get going offensively. Queen's outscored the Lions 23-13, taking the 55-49 lead coming into the final quarter.

A slow start in the fourth, the Gaels endured an 8-0 run from York with seven minutes left. It would be second year guard Ritcey who would break the dry spell with a basket. Hot on offence, Dixon added 2-more points to retake the lead.

With an energetic School-Day home crowd, the Gaels looked to close the game on a high. Out of a timeout, Queen's played strong on defense and forced a turnover. Exchanging three-pointers from both sides, Sarah Safitch (Markham, Ont) would knock down a much-needed 3 coming down the court to make it a 3-possession lead with just over two minutes remaining. Clutch down-low, Lavergne would ultimately put the game out of reach for the Lions.

The final score for the game, Queen's 71, York 60.

Source: gogaelsgo.com

Ryerson 71 Toronto 63

TORONTO – It was a tale of two halves on Wednesday night at the Goldring Centre, as the Ryerson Rams took down the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 71-63 in a come from behind victory, which saw all-star forward Sofia Paska (Etobicoke, Ont.) record her 1,000th point as a member of the women’s basketball program.

The Blues came out surging in the first half, having no trouble connecting offensively. Throughout the entirety of the first two quarters of action, the Varsity Blues were able to connect on fifty-five percent of all field-goal attempts, and sixty-percent of all three-point attempts. Leading the scoreboard in the first half for the home team, and providing endless amounts of troubles for the visiting Rams in the process, was junior guard Keyira Parkes (Scarborough, Ont.) who tallied 12 points off of four three-pointers.

The Blues were furthered assisted by a stellar post performance, as their forwards assisted in grabbing twenty rebounds in the first half, while only allowing the Rams to grab sixteen of their own.

In contrast, the Rams found it to be a little more difficult to get their momentum going as the game began. While it took Paska less than three minutes to find her second bucket on the night to make her a member of the 1,000 point club, it took the rest of the team a little longer to find their shooting grove. Throughout the first half of action, the collective Rams team only connected on thirty-six percent of all field-goal attempts, including being only one-for-four from beyond the arc.

Freshman guard Marin Scotten (Ottawa, Ont.) lead the way offensively for the Rams in the first half with eight points. Scotten would go on to record nineteen points during the evening, a feat which ties her career-best.

Heading into the locker room, the Varsity Blues lead the Rams 40-29, putting pressure on the visiting team to turn things around if they wanted to secure a victory on the evening.

In comparison to the first, the second half of play saw the Rams surge both offensively and defensively, in a manner that would prove to be too much for a Blues line-up that seemed to run out of gas. Of special concern to the home team however, was the way in which the near unstoppable force that is the Rams Sofia Paska came alive throughout the final two quarters of play.

Across the last twenty-minutes of play, Paska would go on to drop seventeen points and collect ten rebounds, proving herself to be a vital component to the Rams victory on the evening.

Collectively, the Rams would connect on nearly forty-four percent of all field-goal attempts, a significant improvement over their first half performance.

In comparison to this surge by the visiting team, the hosting Varsity Blues seemed to run into some trouble in maintaining the intensity they played with in the first half. The Blues were only able to connect on ten field-goal attempts throughout the entire second half, and their three-point percentage decreased from 60% to 18%. With twelve points of her own, Blues senior forward Rahshida Atkinson (Scarborough, Ont.) attempted to keep her team in the contest, but it simply wasn’t enough.

The Rams would go on to outscore the Blues 42-23 throughout the second half of the contest, and eventually take the game by a score of 71-63.

Source: ryersonrams.ca

December 1, 2017

Laurentian 74 Western 78

LONDON, Ont. – Fifth-year guard Mackenzie Puklicz put up a season-high 30 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists as she led Western to a 78-74 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Friday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

Friday's contest tipped off at 11 a.m. as it was a school day game, with more than a thousand young students from London schools filling Alumni Hall to the rafters and making plenty of noise throughout the day.

"I've never seen Alumni Hall like that, it was really exciting. They were cheering the entire time and they were so much fun to have there," said Puklicz, noting the energy of the young fan base. "My time here is running low, but I'd love to see this kind of crowd here for the rest of the girls in the next couple years."

"The crowd was great for us. It gave us an atmosphere that we deserve to play in front of every game. It was a great initiative by Western and the Thames Valley District School board and we're so grateful for the experience," said Mustangs' head coach Brian Cheng on the impact of the fans.

One other Mustang scored in double-figures for the purple and white in the win, as third-year forward Julia Curran put up 26 points to go along with 17 rebounds in a huge double-double performance. Western guard Maddy Horst helped facilitate the offence for Western, as she racked up eight assists on the day.

"Julia does so many things for us. Whatever amount of points we get out of here we're happy with; she checks a lot of boxes off. She's capable of these kinds of numbers, she just needs to realize this is within her potential," said Cheng on Curran's double-double.

Forward L'Ashante Henry led the way for the Voyageurs, scoring a team-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds in the loss to the Mustangs.

The Mustangs were clearly playing off the energy of the crowd to start the first quarter, as Curran led the way through the opening minutes, sparking the early offence for the purple and white. However, the Laurentian defence would soon find its footing, as Western's early scoring-surge was quickly hampered by the Voyageurs.

Curran continued to be the catalyst behind the Western offence throughout the frame, pouring in ten points in the quarter and creating extra possessions through offensive rebounds. However, Laurentian would go on a run of their own to end the quarter, as a buzzer-beating layup would earn the Voyageurs a 18-16 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Voyageurs moved to a zone defence to begin the second frame, hoping to slow down the Mustangs' inside presence, but Curran continued to prove her dominance on the interior, scoring with ease and retaking a slim lead for purple and white. Laurentian's zone began to be picked apart by the Western offence midway through the frame, as perimeter ball movement led to open shots from beyond the arc.

The swift ball movement quickly lead to the Voyageurs abandoning the zone in favour of the man-to-man defence which earned them their initial lead. Puklicz, a primary scoring threat for the Mustangs, found her rhythm late in the second frame, knocking down jump shots and spreading the Voyageurs' defence thin. However, foul trouble for the purple and white would keep the Mustangs from pulling away, as they entered the half with a 42-33 lead.

Puklicz picked up right where she left off to start the third quarter, extending the lead to double-digits thanks to some stellar shooting. The Mustang offence continued to flow through the veteran leadership and ball movement from Maddy Horst, but porous defence on the perimeter allowed Voyageur shooters to cut into the Western lead.

Turnovers coupled with continued foul trouble haunted the Mustangs late in the quarter, as they watched their lead quickly dissipate heading towards the fourth. Despite their strong play to begin the quarter, Western headed into the final quarter of play with a slim 56-54 advantage.

Both teams traded baskets in a back-and-forth affair to begin the quarter, as Puklicz continued to lead the purple and white throughout the second half. Turnovers piled up quickly for the purple and white thanks to Laurentian's half-court trap, allowing the Voyageurs to convert on fast-break chances.

However, a pair of clutch three-point shots from Puklicz late in the fourth would swing the momentum back in favour of the home side. Key free throws from Victoria Heine would be enough to ice the game for the Mustangs, as Western walked away with a 78-74 win.

With the win, the Mustangs will improve to 5-5 on the season, as they remain in sixth place in a tightly-contested OUA West division. The Voyageurs loss will move them to 2-6 on the season, as they hope to move up from the bottom of the OUA East standings.

"We wanted to protect home court, especially with that crowd, and we definitely did that today," said Curran. "We fought this one out, so we have a lot of momentum going into tomorrow's game and hopefully that'll give us the energy to pull it out."

Source: westernmustangs.ca

Lakehead 64 Toronto 72

Third-year guard Keyira Parkes led all players with 23 points, with 13 coming in the fourth quarter, in leading the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team to an upset 72-64 victory over the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday night (Dec. 1) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

With the win, the Blues head into the December exam break with a 4-6 record, while the Thunderwolves drop to 6-3 with one game remaining in 2017.

Parkes went 7-for-12, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, while adding four rebounds, two assists and one steal in the victory.

Fifth-year guard Rahshida Atkinson recorded 15 points and six rebounds, while sophomore forward Nada Radonjic notched her first career double-double with 12 points and a team-high 13 rebounds on the night.

Diedre Edwards ended the game with six points, six boards, four assists and three steals, while fellow veteran Emily Piccini had eight points and five boards in the win.

Parkes held a hot hand in the opening quarter and notched seven early points, while the Blues held OUA leading scorer Leashja Grant to just two points. Toronto narrowly trailed 22-19 after 10 minutes of action.

Atkinson led U of T with seven second-quarter points, while Lakehead's Grant found her rhythm, scoring six points in the second frame and putting up 14 rebounds in the first half. The Blues took a 34-32 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was a back-and-forth battle with Atkinson and Radonjic pacing Toronto with six points each. Lakehead's Bridget O'Reilly notched six of her own as U of T took a 53-49 lead into the final frame.

Parkes sealed the victory for Toronto, draining seven points in the first five minutes of the fourth to put Toronto up 60-55. Lakehead attempted to rally but the Blues held them off to earn their fourth win of the season.

The Varsity Blues host three exhibition games, December 28-30, at Goldring Centre before resuming regular-season action at Ottawa on Friday, January 5, 2018.

Source: varsityblues.ca

Waterloo 50 Laurier 67

WATERLOO, Ont. (December 1, 2017) - The first meeting between the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women’s basketball team and the Waterloo Warriors this season was a one-sided affair. The Hawks took care of business against the last-place Warriors, winning the Battle of Waterloo 67-50 for their 18th consecutive victory over their cross-town rivals.

With the win, the purple and gold improve to 6-4 on the year, and hand the Warriors the 10th loss of their winless season.

Offensively, the trio of Nicole Morrison (Hamilton), Irena Rynkiewicz (Mississauga, Ont.) and Rachel Woodburn (Ajax, Ont.) shouldered the load for Laurier.

Morrison left her mark in every category, highlighted by leading the team with 16 points and dishing out a game-high five assists. The fifth-year guard also pulled-down seven rebounds and picked up four steals.

In what was a solid performance by Rynkiewicz, the third-year forward produced 14 points on 6-12 shooting from the field, in addition to getting four rebounds.

For Woodburn, it was a spectacularly efficient night as the second-year guard made six shots on eight attempts. For the game, she totalled 13 points and was the leading rebounder in the game, bringing down eight boards.

For Waterloo, Ann Stewart (Yellowknife) led the way, picking up a career-high 16 points off the bench. She also led the team with six rebounds.

Morrison was honoured at halftime for her outstanding career accomplishment, attained on November 10th against Ottawa. It was on that night that Morrison surpassed 1000 points for her career, a feat only done by three only players in Laurier women’s basketball history. A two-time OUA all-star, Morrison has averaged 12.7 points per game over her five-year career. She’ll be hoping to catch Laurier's all-time scoring leader Meghan McGrath (Toronto, Ont.) by the end of the season, who finished her incredible career with 1371 points.

Source: laurierathletics.com

Carleton 81 McMaster 54

HAMILTON, ON – The Carleton Ravens buckled down defensively and put on an offensive clinic as part of an 81-54 victory over the McMaster Marauders on Friday night at the Burridge Gymnasium.

Fifth-year forward Heather Lindsay (Ottawa, ON) scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field while also grabbing 12 rebounds (four offensive) and distributing two assists in 18 minutes of floor time.

GAME FLOW:

Carleton sprinted out to an early 14-3 lead that was capped off by a three-pointer by fourth-year guard Nicole Gilmore (Hamilton, ON). McMaster was forced to take a timeout in an attempt to thwart the Ravens’ momentum. The Marauders responded by going on a 11-4 run to close out the first quarter trailing 18-14.

McMaster continued to storm back in the second quarter and took a 20-19 lead after Julia Hanaka scored four straight points in the first 90 seconds of the frame. Forward Elizabeth Leblanc (London, ON) answered with four straight points of her own before Alyssa Cerino (Stoney Creek, ON) nailed two three-pointers to put Carleton up 29-22 just over halfway through the second. The Ravens tightened their defensive rotations and held on for a 38-27 entering the break.

Carleton opened the third quarter with a decisive run that all but sealed the game, scoring 12 straight points out of the gate in the second half to race ahead 50-27. The Ravens outscored the Marauders 26-8 in the quarter and hit five of their game-high 10 three-pointers in the third.

McMaster dueled with Carleton throughout the fourth quarter and outscored the Ravens 19-17 in the final 10 minutes thanks to the concerted effort of Erin Burns, who poured in seven of her team-high 14 points in the fourth. But it wasn’t enough as the Ravens marched to an 81-54 victory by the time the final buzzer sounded.

Source: goravens.ca

Nipissing 46 Windsor 65

The Lancer women's basketball team dominated their final weekend of 2017 with convincing victories over the Nipissing Lakers and Laurentian Voyageurs. Windsor beat the Lakers 65-46 Friday night before running away with a 89-48 win over Laurentian on Saturday evening.

The victories move the Lancers into sole possession of first place in the OUA west division standings with an 8-2 record heading into the holiday break.

Lancer fifth year guard Carly Steer led all scorers with 15 points, while Tyra Blizzard was right behind her with 14 points. Emily Prevost had the games only double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Jordan Gutt came off the bench for the Blue & Gold and chipped in 10 points in the win. Alexe Galipeau-Wilson led the visitors with 12 points.

The Lancers outshot an impressive 45.3% compared to the Lakers 38.5%, and also dominated the game defensively, out-rebounding Nipissing 35-19.

Source: golancers.ca

Ottawa 68 Brock 55

Gee-Gees women’s basketball fought their way to a 68-55 win against the Brock Badgers in St. Catharines on Friday night.

The team was solid on both ends of the floor to open the first quarter, with some balanced scoring the Gee-Gees held a seven-point lead heading into the second frame.

Mid-way through the second quarter, the team went cold on offence, but ultimately was able to stay aggressive on the defensive end and carry a 27-21 lead into the break.

An offensive explosion in the third quarter had the team out scoring the Badgers 20-11, carrying a steady momentum and a 15-point lead into the final frame.

The Gee-Gees kept the pressure up in the fourth quarter with a handful nice finishes, including back-to-back scores for both Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu and Amélie Hachey. Although Brock looked to be pushing for a comeback, the Gee-Gees defence tightened up enough to keep the game out of reach.

Lefebvre-Okankwu had a powerful 21-point and 10 rebound double-double to lead the team. Hachey also was in double figures with 12 points, and Jen Crowe added 11 on the night.

“Our offence continues to be a work in progress, but we’ve been shooting it better,” said Gee-Gees head coach Andy Sparks. “Our team defence needs a little work, but we really competed tonight. I think the difference in the game was our ability to put some pressure on them and turn the ball over.”

Despite her strong performance, Lefebvre-Okankwu was hesitant to congratulate herself too much.

“I had some issues on defence, so I don’t want to call it one of my best performances,” she said.

“We need to take what we did well and come out and play tougher and better tomorrow. [McMaster] is a bigger team and it’s a win we need to get, and I think we’re going to get it.”

Source: geegees.ca

Queen’s 74 Guelph 52

GUELPH, Ont. (December 1, 2017) - The Queen's Gaels (9-1) travelled to Guelph to take on the Guelph Gryphons (5-5) on Friday night coming away with a 74-56 victory at the Gryphons Athletics Centre.

MAJOR PLAYERS
Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.) led the way for the Tricolour posting 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals while Andrea Priamo (Guelph, Ont.) had five points, 10 rebounds a steal and a block in her hometown. Guelph was led by Burke Bechard who finished with 16 points and four rebounds.

GAME FLOW
Queen's and Guelph started things off at an even pace in the opening minutes with Veronika Lavergne (Ottawa) and Dixon doing much of the damage for Queen's in the early stages.

The two teams traded leads before finally settling in at 17-17 after the opening quarter.

In the second frame, the Gaels shooters came alive as the Gryphons offence fell off. After the Gryphons sunk an early three-pointer from Burke Bechard, Sophie de Goede put back a pair of jumpers to give Queen's the lead and continue on a 14-3 run to take control.

Emma Ritcey (Orillia, Ont.) closed out the frame with a last-second left-handed lay-in to give Queen's a 39-25 advantage at the break.

In the third quarter, Queen's continued to control the play. The Gaels nailed a pair of three-pointers as Maddie Morris(Seeley's Bay, Ont.) and Sarah Saftich (Markham, Ont.) hit consecutive baskets putting Queen's up 53-29.

The Gaels closed out the quarter with a 60-36 lead.

In the fourth, Guelph was finally able to string together a sequence of scoring plays as Megan Brenkel had the hot hand for the Gryphons. It was too late for any sort of comeback however as the Gaels rode their early first half lead to a 74-52 victory.

Source: gogaelsgo.com

December 2, 2017

Lakehead 62 Ryerson 81

TORONTO – The Rams were able to extend their winning streak to seven games to cap off 2017 on Saturday evening, with an 81-62 win over the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

On paper, Saturday night’s game appeared to be a rather even contest between the two teams. In spite of their recent loss to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, the Thunderwolves remained in second place in the OUA’s Western Conference, assisted by the thus far stellar performance of forward Leashja Grant (Nassau, BS) who presently tops the league in both points and rebounds. Instead, the Rams would dominate throughout the game, maintaining the lead across all four quarters, and holding Grant to only eleven points on the night, her lowest total thus far this season.

In opposition to a typical Grant-centered performance this evening, it would be forward Bridget O’Reilly (Seaforth, Ont.) leading the way for Lakehead with 21 points on the night. An incredibly aggressive Lakehead defense, while not proving extensively troublesome, was proven to be effective against the Rams, as intense player-to-player coverage contributed to 18 Ryerson turnovers on the evening.

In spite of these strengths, it would be all Rams, all game, as the home team took control offensively right from the get go. Topping the Rams score sheet this evening was all-star forward Sofia Paska (Etobicoke, Ont.) who, with 21 points and 10 rebounds, recorded a double-double on the evening and proved to be too much for Lakehead’s Grant, who is not used to guarding forwards of Paska’s caliber.

Of note this evening, however, was the performance of freshman guard Jama Bin-Edward (Waterloo, Ont.). Bin-Edward recorded 21 points on the evening, a career-high for her, to go along with five rebounds and four steals in the victory.

With this win, the Rams improve to 8-2 on the season and maintain themselves firmly in third-place within the OUA’s Eastern Conference. While the team was able to close out 2017 on a strong-note, 2018 will start off with a road-trip that will prove to be a true test of the Rams ability.

Source: ryersonrams.ca

Laurentian 48 Windsor 89

Steer once again led all scorers with 23 points, while the Voyageurs were paced by Adriane Bruni who scored 16 points.

The Lancers had a great day from three-point land, going 50 per cent from behind the line, and put forth a dominating effort on the glass, pulling down 38 rebounds while Laurentian managed just 18.

The Lancers came out the gates strong. Steer led all scorers in the first half with 17 points, 15 of them from beyond the arc. Laurentian took away the inside and actually had a better shooting percentage than Windsor, however, there was no answer for Steer. Despite being outshot in both attempts and percentage the Lancers lead by double digits at halftime, in part due to Emily Prevost's effort on the glass, giving the Lancers six rebounds. Led by Steer and Prevost, the Lancers were able to take a 35-21 lead into the break.

In the second half it was more of the same for the Blue and Gold. The Lancers offense was relentless I the second half, scoring more points in the third quarter than either of the first two quarters. Prevost led the Lancers scoring six points in the quarter while Steer quieted down a bit.

The Voyageurs continued to search for answers against the Windsor defense as they went 3 for 10 from the field in the quarter. The Lancers led 64-35 after three quarters and ran away with it, 89-48.

Source: golancers.ca

Nipissing 42 Western 58

LONDON, Ont. - Fifth-year guard Mackenzie Puklicz poured in a game-high 16 points to go along with 12 rebounds and two assists in a double-double performance to help lead the Western Mustangs to a 58-42 comeback victory over the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday evening in Alumni Hall.

With the win, the Mustangs will improve to a 6-5 record on the season, as they move above .500 and sit in fifth place in the OUA West division heading into the second half of the season. The Lakers' loss will drop them to 2-7 on the season, as they will remain at the bottom of the OUA East Division heading into the new year.

"We're usually pretty tough in the fourth quarter. We dig down and we find our energy reserves; it's kind of like a marathon runner hitting the runners-high. We usually have strong fourth quarters and tonight was a good response from the team," said Mustangs' head coach Brian Cheng on his team's fourth-quarter run. "We just kept on battling and we found the opportunities in the end."

Two other Mustangs scored in double-figures for the purple and white, as Julia Curran put up her second double-double of the weekend, notching 11 points to go along with 14 rebounds on the night. Maddy Horst helped jump-start the Western offence throughout the evening, as she put up 13 points on the night.

"Coming into the second half, we knew they were going to keep battling. I struggled a bit offensively yesterday, so I looked for my shots a bit more tonight, while still trying to find my teammates within the offence," said Horst, commenting on her performance. "When one of us isn't performing as well as we'd like to, you know that you'll always have those teammates that are ready to pick up the slack. It was a team win."

The Mustangs' offence found themselves going up against a zone defence early in the first quarter, a rare sight which seemed to unnerve Western to begin the game. Nipissing began the game with a pair of threes on their first two offensive possessions along with a fast break layup to give the Lakers a quick 8-0 run to begin the game.

However, the purple and white would quickly settle in with some strong defence of their own, creating turnovers and finding their offence through the fast break.

Despite the slow start for the purple and white, the Mustangs effort on the defensive end of the floor would ultimately pay dividends, as Western went into the second quarter with a 15-12 advantage.

Curran would continue her work on the boards to begin the quarter, creating a series of offensive chances for the purple and white. However, despite their chances, both teams had trouble finding the bottom of the basket throughout the frame and the game quickly became a defensive showdown.

The Lakers' jump shots began to drop late in the quarter, as the Mustangs' defence found itself scrambling to contest shooters. Despite the slow start to the second frame, a series of foul calls against Nipissing quickly allowed the Mustangs back into the game. Neither team would find a way to pull ahead in the first half, as Western found themselves heading into halftime with a slim 26-25 lead.

Western started the second half picking right where they left off on the offensive boards, as Deborah Kamba and Curran dominated in the paint through the opening minutes. However, the Lakers' offence began to find its footing in the third, knocking down jump shots with regularity and extending the Nipissing lead.

Nipissing's zone returned once again midway through the third to disrupt Western's interior scoring and keep the offence from finding consistent rhythm. However, a series of turnovers for the Lakers coupled with a short offensive run from the purple and white would cut the Nipissing lead to a slim 40-38 margin heading into the final quarter of play.

Both teams would face a scoring drought to start the fourth, as neither side would find a basket until midway through the frame, until a jump shot from Puklicz tied the game at 40-40. Puklicz would continue to lead the Western offence down the stretch after being relatively locked down through the first three frames.

Defence led the rest of the way for Western, as quick hands by the Mustangs forced turnovers and sparked the fast break. One final three from Puklicz would ultimately be too much for Nipissing to recover from late in the fourth, as Western extended their lead and cruised to an eventual 58-42 victory.

"We've been slow at the start of games so far this season, but we're working hard at improving. We understand what we need to do going forward and this break in the season will allow us to put some fine-tuning into our game plan going into the second half," said Brian Cheng, looking at the changes his team will be looking to make heading into the new year.

The Mustangs will be back in action Friday, January 5 where they will enjoy a month-long break before returning to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks at home in Alumni Hall. The game is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. and fans can catch the action live at OUA.tv.

"In the second half of the season, we need to continue to work on our rebounding and pushing the pace. I think if we play our transition game, we're going to have success in the future," noted Horst.

Source: westernmustangs.ca

Ottawa 48 McMaster 45

The Gee-Gees women’s basketball team earned a tough 48-45 road win over the U SPORTS eighth-ranked McMaster Marauders in Hamilton on Saturday.

Spreading the ball around the floor, the team was able to establish a double-digit lead on one of the OUA’s top teams early in the first quarter. Part of the Gee-Gees’ ability to get points early was in their defence, forcing the Marauders into a myriad of turnovers to kick off the game.

Despite carrying a commanding 36-18 lead into the second half, McMaster showed signs of offensive life before the break. The Marauders came out and won a scrappy third quarter by a slim 10-8 margin and it seemed as though the Ottawa offence was unable to rekindle their first half magic.

In the final frame, McMaster stormed out on a 14-0 run and almost tied the game after a barrage of three-pointers. The Gee-Gees were finally able to break the run and two big free-throw makes by Angela Ribarich put the team up enough to seal the win.

“It’s a really good way to go into the break,” said Ribarich. “We’ve been inconsistent over the course of a game, we’ve had big highs and big lows. To come out that strong shows that we can compete at that level, now we just have to learn how to do it for four quarters.”

Ribarich had a double-double performance on the night with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Amélie Hachey also had 10 points and six rebounds and Maia Timmons had nine points, all of which came on three-pointers.

“Our execution on opportunities wasn’t as good as it needed to be, but we got two wins this weekend,” said Gee-Gees head coach Andy Sparks. “We said a week ago that if we get to 5-5 at the break we would be happy, and here we are, but there’s always lots of work to be done.”

Source: geegees.ca

Carleton 60 Brock 41

ST. CATHARINES, ON – The Carleton Ravens struggled from the field on a chilly Saturday night at the Meridian Centre, but found a way to muscle out a 60-41 win against the Brock Badgers.

Fifth-year guard Catherine Traer (Chelsea, QC) scored 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field while also picking up seven rebounds, a steal and swatting aside two shots in 24 minutes of action.

GAME FLOW:

The Ravens struggled to find their form to begin the first quarter and found themselves trailing the Badgers 8-5 after Baelie Campbell hit a pull-up jump shot to put Brock ahead early. Campbell wasn’t done yet as she hit another jumper with 26 seconds left in the first to give the Badgers a 12-10 lead heading into the second quarter.

Frustrated by a lacklustre first quarter, the Ravens’ defence set the tone early in the second. Traer blocked a shot by Brooke Murdoch, corralled the rebound and started a fast-break that resulted in a three-pointer by freshman Madison Reid (Carleton Place, ON) to help Carleton regain the lead. Forward Elizabeth Leblanc (London, ON) led by example on the defensive end for the Ravens. Leblanc racked up five steals in the game, including three in a span of 75 seconds in the final four minutes of the second. The fourth-year forward’s defence was infectious and helped the Ravens outscore the Badgers 20-6 in the quarter and enter the second-half leading 30-18.

Fifth-year center Heather Lindsay (Ottawa, ON) struggled to find her shot throughout the game, but still put forth a determined effort on both ends of the floor, piling up 15 rebounds (eight offensive) and three steals. Lindsay scored the Ravens’ first two baskets of the second-half to push the lead to 34-20. Ana Caldeira Rua helped Brock pull to within single digits after nailing a short jump shot to reduce the score to 34-25, but Traer quickly answered with four straight points to help ensure that Carleton closed the quarter ahead 43-28.

The Badgers crawled back to within 12 points in the opening minute of the fourth after Kristin Gallant absorbed contact on a turn around jumper and still converted the shot before calmly hitting the free throw to help Brock edge closer at 43-31. With the Badgers threatening, Leblanc had other ideas, grabbing her fifth steal of the night before leading a two-on-one fast-break that finished with Leblanc feeding Traer for an easy layup in transition. A double-digit cushion proved to be all the Ravens would need to outlast the Badgers and close out the game 60-41.

Source: goravens.ca