OUA Women's Basketball Roundup (Oct. 30)
October 25, 2017
Western 53 Brock 62
The Brock University women's basketball team opened the OUA regular season with a 62-53 victory over the Western mustasngs Wednersday night at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
The Badgers trailed Western 14-12 after the opening 10 minutes, before putting together a 15-2 run in the second quarter to take a 29-26 lead at the half.
With the Badgers leading 37-31 with three minutes left in the third quarter, Western's offense went on a 12-2 run to take a 43-39 lead after 30 minutes.
The Mustangs held a 47-44 lead with 6:18 led in regulation. In the final six minutes it was all Brock as they outscored Western 18-5 the rest of the way, on route to their first win of the regular season.
Leading the Badgers offense was the duo of Stephanie Findlay and Ana Caldeira Rua and who combined for 31 points. Findlay led all scorers with a game-high 16 points and four rebounds. Rua was an outstanding floor general as she registered 15 points and 10 assists for the double-double. She also added four steals and three boards. Courtney Mcpherson had a big night on the glass recording a season high 14 rebounds while adding six points off the bench. Brooke Murdoch collected six points and five assists while rookies Kristin Gallant and Ieva Sukeviciute chipped in with seven and six points respectively.
Western was led by Maddy Horst and Skye Barbato who added 13 and 10 points in the loss.
For the game, Brock shot 36.4% (24-for-66) from the field, 33.3% (5-for-15) from three-point range and 60.0% (9-for-15) from the charity stripe. The Mustangs went 19-for-62 (30.6%) from the floor, 4-for-17 (23.5%) from downtown and 11-for-13 (84.6%) from the free throw line.
Source: Brock Badgers
Guelph 61 McMaster 70
The McMaster women's basketball team played host to the Guelph Gryphons as they opened up their 2017-18 OUA regular season at home. Despite some rocky play at times, the Marauders were able to muster up a 70-61 victory over the Gryphons inside Burridge Gym on Wednesday night.
Typical of early season play, both teams showed some rust with shooting percentages low and foul counts high. The game would conclude with a total of 41 fouls being committed by the two teams, making for some ugly basketball.
Guelph found itself trailing and struggling to find any offense in the opening half of play, only shooting 22% from the field. The Gryphons improved their shooting only slightly in the second half, ending with a 29.6% from the floor.
Meanwhile for the Marauders, they would maintain a steady offence, as things would settle down a bit following the first half.
Led by all-star Hilary Hanaka, who finished the day with a team-leading 15 points, the Marauders made use of quick transitional play as the Gryphons attempted to apply pressure in the early-goings of the game. McMaster built the lead by doubling up on the Gryphons in steals, finishing the game with a total of 14, and rebounded in the defensive zone far better than Guelph with 32 compared to the Gryphons' 19.
An OUA All-Rookie last year, Olivia Wilson also would put up strong offensive numbers, as she would tally 14 points of her own, while teammate Linnaea Harper finished the night with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Scoring leaders for the Gryphons were Sarah Holmes and Skyla Minaker, who both would score 11 points.
Source: McMaster Marauders
October 27, 2017
Lakehead 61 Queen’s 77
The Queen's Gaels (1-0) women's basketball team opened their season at home on Friday night at the ARC taking down Lakehead (0-1) 77-61.
GAME FLOW:
Coming into the 2017-18 season with a lot of momentum after a successful 2016-17 campaign, the Gaels team hope to replicate the success of last year, where they went undefeated in the regular season and finished fourth in the USPORTS championship.
Queen's had to shake off some rust early as they were slow to start. Lakehead was on the ball early, out-rebounding the Gaels on the glass, allowing for second chance points and fast break opportunities. The Gaels weren't able to score a basket until, mid-way through the first frame. After being down 7-0, Queen's managed to take their first lead off of big buckets from Marianne Alarie (Sudbury, Ont.) and Veronika Lavergne(Ottawa, Ont).
Lakehead closed out the quarter with a one point, 19-18 lead over the Gaels.
Queen's started the second quarter on a hot-streak outscoring Lakehead 19-10 in a high scoring frame. Andrea Priamo(Guelph, Ont.) had the hot hand, scoring a pair of buckets and a three-pointer midway through the quarter. This jolt gave Queen's their largest lead in the game to that point. Closing the half, the Gaels played their best defence, finishing hard on the boards opening up their own fast break opportunities. The Gaels turned the table in the second quarter and opened up a 48-33 lead heading into the second half.
The Tricolour got off to a fast start in the third, and the Thunderwolves could not keep up. Alarie shined, scoring 11 points in the frame including a big triple from beyond the arc to pad their lead even further. Nothing was given down-low, but the Gaels managed to find success with their jump shot. Alarie headed into the fourth with 16 points to lead Queen's offensively.
The fourth quarter started with both teams exchanging baskets. Lakehead outscored Queen's throughout the final stanza, but it was too little too late for the visiting team as the Gaels held on for a 77-61 victory.
Source: Queen's Gaels
Ryerson 78 Algoma 58
It was a successful season opener for the Ryerson Rams women’s basketball team, as they pulled off a 78-58 win against the Algoma Thunderbirds in Sault Ste. Marie on Friday night.
However, the match was far more contested then the final score shows, and the signs of a potentially close contest were evident from the first quarter. As the game began, the Thunderbirds defensive approach to the Rams was to limit their offensive movement to the back court, by swarming point guards off of the inbounds pass. For a limited period of time, this strategy seemed to be effective, as the Rams offensive abilities were limited in the face of a tenacious Algoma defensive effort. On top of this, the Thunderbirds seemed to be given endless chances on offense during the first two quarters, as the standard three-two defensive formation utilized by the Rams was, at times, too spread out allowing the home team to grab several offensive rebounds.
With respect to their scoring abilities, the Thunderbirds seemed to be on a hot streak all night, as they converted forty-percent of their three point attempts into points, and were nearly even with the Rams on regular field goal convert. The Rams play, however, maintained itself as systematic and professional in the wake of this unusually aggressive Algoma team. Through the use of effective pick-and-roll plays and quick passing, the Rams were able to pick apart an Algoma defense that lost much of its luster when forced to the confines of a three-two defensive formation. To add to this, the Rams had a weapon that the Thunderbirds could not find an answer for, in the form of their forward Sofia Paska (Etobicoke, Ont.). The 6’4” forward posted 24 points on the night, taking advantage of a much smaller Algoma line-up that simply could not compete with her skill and stature.
As the first half concluded, the Rams were able to hold on to a 41-32 that they were looking to increase as the third quarter began. However, Algoma had tired in their pursuit of an unprecedented upset and threw all the could at the Rams. Through the utilization of long-range shots that took advantage of a now clustered Rams defensive formation, the Thunderbirds were able to pick apart the Rams lead throughout the quarter. Combine this with the fact that the Rams seemed to be unable to connect on a majority of their offensive attempts, and the nine-point lead that Ryerson held coming into the quarter was chipped down to only four, as the Thunderbirds outscored the Rams 18-13 during the third.
It wasn’t until the final quarter of play that the Rams were truly able to get back into their stride, and put away any chance of an underdog victory. The Rams began to take advantage of an Algoma defensive formation that left forward, Sofia Paska (Etobicoke, Ont.), virtually unguarded, permitting the acquisition of several easy points. In addition to this, the Rams began to pressure the Thunderbirds from the backcourt, preventing forward ball movement and forcing more turnovers from home team. As a result of these efforts, the Rams were able to restrict the Thunderbirds to only eight points in the final quarter, while recording twenty-four of their own.
Source: Ryerson Rams
October 28, 2017
Western 48 Waterloo 43
A 14-point performance from Maddy Horst led the Western Mustangs to their first victory of the season with a 48-42 win over the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday afternoon at the PAC Gym.
Horst's game leading effort came in only her second regular season contest after missing the entirety of last season due to injury. The Baden, Ont., native shot 4-10 from the field, including hitting three three-pointers, while also adding four rebounds and two assists against the Warriors.
Three other Mustangs finished just outside double digits in scoring as Mackzenie Puklicz, Victoria Heine, and Julia Curran all recorded nine points. Heine and Curran were also a force to be reckoned with on the glass, leading all players with 10 and 14 rebounds, respectively.
Sydney Wilson topped the Warriors score sheet with 11 points in the loss, and was closely followed by Ann Stewart and Afifa Salada who both recorded 10 points.
It was all Mustangs in the opening minutes of the contest, with Western jumping out to a 12-0 lead a little more than three minutes into the game. The Warriors then flipped the script on the Mustangs, going on a 7-0 run of their own to cut into Western's lead, before a pair of free throws from Horst gave the purple and white a 14-7 advantage heading into the second quarter.
Western only increased their lead in the second frame, starting things off with back-to-back three pointers from Heine and Horst to put the Mustangs up by 13. Heine played a big role in the Mustangs second quarter success, scoring seven points, while also grabbing four rebounds and making one block to help Western take a 33-13 lead into the half.
After the Mustangs controlled the scoreboard for the first 20 minutes of action things were much more even in the third quarter with the Warriors outscoring Western 12-11 in the frame. Both offences struggled to find their rhythm in the early going with the first basket not coming until nearly three minutes in. From there the teams would exchange baskets with Western holding a 44-25 lead entering the final quarter.
Despite trailing by 19 points the Warriors put forth a furious comeback in the last 10 minutes, led by eight points from Salad. Waterloo outscored Western 18-4 in the fourth, but the Mustangs early lead proved too much to overcome, with the purple and white taking a 48-43 win.
Source: Western Mustangs
Laurier 60 Brock 65
The Brock University women's basketball team defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks by the score of 65-60 Saturday afternoon at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
Both teams came out of the open tip playing a fast paced brand of basketball. The scoring often came on fast breaks for both sides however the Badgers had a 19 to 11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Laurier however did not give up without a fight. They came out in the second quarter and went on a 9 to 3 run to cut the Brock lead to just two. Again the momentum switched, this time Brooke Murdoch led the Badgers attack. She scored on three early three pointers which ignited an 11-0 run for the Badgers and sent them into half time with a lead.
In the second half both teams went back in forth trading points and trying to grow a substantial lead. With two minutes left the Badgers were leading by three points. However a couple of late free throws by Kristin Gallant sealed the win for the Badgers. The Badgers are now 2-0 on the season.
Brock was led by a trio of players who finished with double digit points. Brooke Murdoch was the games top scorer finishing with 19 points. She put on a show from three-point range finishing 5 for 9 from beyond the arc. Courtney McPherson was tremendous for the Badgers with a double-double adding 14 points to go along with 15 rebounds. Kristin Gallant was huge in the second half and finished with 13 points, including those clutch free throws late in the fourth quarter.
Source: Brock Badgers
Toronto 67 Algoma 28
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team opened their 2017-18 regular season with a 67-28 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Saturday night (Oct. 28) in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Toronto dominated the entire game, holding the Thunderbirds to single digits in all four quarters.
Fifth-year guard Rahshida Atkinson led all players with 21 points, while adding four boards and two assists. Atkinson went 8-for-13 from the floor, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc on the night.
Keyira Parkes, a third-year guard from Scarborough, Ont., added 12 points and three rebounds, while sophomore forward Nada Radonjic tallied nine points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Both Sarah Bennett and Charlotte Collyer chipped in with a game-high seven rebounds in the victory.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Lakehead 69 York 63
The Tait McKenzie Centre was filled with energy Saturday when the York University Lions women's basketball team took on the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves. After an exciting fourth and final quarter, the Lions finished just behind the Thunderbirds with a final score of 69-63.
The Lions trailed the Thunderwolves for the first three quarters, much to the dismay of the York home crowd. This all came to halt in the fourth when the Lions caught up and then surpassed the Thunderwolves, at one point leading by four points. With two minutes left, the Thunderwolves caught up and started leading again by one after free throws by Leashja Grant.
Things started to look like a lost cause for the Lions, as the Thunderwolves continued to increase their lead. For the second time this game, the Lions made some outstanding defensive plays, quickly retaking possession of the ball and sprinting down the court to make their own successful offensive plays. With 30 seconds left, the Lions had closed the gap to 64-63.
Just when it looked like the Lions might just pull out a win, Bridget O'Reilly of the Thunderwolves sank a three-pointer with 19 seconds remaining. They used this momentum to carry themselves through the rest of the game.
After many post-point celebrations in the stands and timeouts initiated by both sides, the visiting Thunderwolves came out victorious with a 69-63 win over the Lions.
The Lions spent the three previous quarters chasing the Thunderwolves, with scores of 18-16, 36-27 and 53-45.
Top scorers for the Lions were fifth-year forward Lindsay Shotbolt with 15 points and second-year Megan MacLeod with 12 points. Shotbolt also led the team in rebounds, with nine throughout the game. Scoring for the Thunderwolves was dominated by Grant with 25 points.
Source: York Lions
Guelph 69 Windsor 87
In part two of the Lancers basketball double header the Lancers women's team took to the floor to play against the Guelph Gryphons. The Lancers found themselves down early but were able to turn the game around on route to a convincing 87-69 win.
Game Stats
Carly Steer shot an astounding 7/8 from beyond the arc and hit eight of her nine field goals over all, scoring 25 points to lead all scorers. Emily Prevost had 17 points, while rookie Jordan Gutt had 15 points and first year Eve Uwayesu finished with ten.
Guelph's Burke Bechard was the Gryphons leading scorer with 16 points. Sarah Holmes finished the night with 13 points, Skyla Minaker had 12 points, and Sarah Holmes and Ashley Wheeler both hit ten points.
The Lancers held the Gryphons to 33 per cent from the field and 26 per cent from behind the arc. Windsor shot 55 per cent from the field and made an astounding 70 per cent of their three point tries.
Game Flow
The Lancers opened their season in lacklustre fashion. Windsor put themselves down 15-2 early with far too many turnovers and sloppy plays. Trailing after the first quarter, the Lancers were able to turn it around. Behind Steer's 11 points and 75 per cent three point shot, the Lancers were able to battle back with an astonishing 31 points in the quarter to take the lead. Up by eight with in the final seconds of the half, Kaylee Anagnostopoulos was able to drain a three at the buzzer to give the Lancers a 43- 32-point lead going into the half.
The third quarter was all Windsor as the Lancers shot a perfect 4/4 from beyond the arc and shot 80 per cent from the field; all while holding the Gryphons to 20 per cent from three and 25 per cent from the field, surrendering only 13 points for the whole quarter. Windsor continued their dominance into the fourth quarter as they ran away with the lead for an 87-69 victory in their first game.
Source: Windsor Lancers