Gee-Gees power to road win over Queen’s in OUA quarterfinals

KINGSTON, Ont. - In a highly intense matchup with the Queen's Gaels, the Gee-Gees women's basketball team was able to clinch a spot in the OUA Critelli Cup semifinals with a 74-63 win in Kingston on Saturday night.

The game opened with a furious pace as the Gee-Gees took an 11-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game, before the Gaels roared back with an 11 unanswered points of their own to tie the score, not even five minutes into the first quarter.

The Gee-Gees, as they have done all year, used their aggressive defence to establish a double-digit lead early in the second quarter and were able to maintain that lead heading into the halftime break. Key in that second frame was the play of third-year forward Angela Ribarich who had held the Gaels in check, recording six of her game high eight blocks in the quarter, as the Gaels were only able to muster 10 points before the half.

While the Gee-Gees lead fluctuated in the second half, reaching a high of 14 and a low of 4, the young team was able to stay poised thanks to timely baskets from key contributors, including first-year guard Maia Timmons.

Along with Ribarich who had a game high of 19 points, 15 of which came in a dominant second half performance, was first-year forward Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu. The first year Biomedical Science student from Gatineau, Que. who led the team in scoring during the regular season (12.3 ppg), added 18 points of her own on 7-12 shooting. The two forwards were dominant in the rebounding game, as they collected over half of their teams 44 rebounds compared to 33 for the Gaels, including nine of the teams 15 on the offensive end.

Gee-Gees head coach Andy Sparks highlighted the play of third-year guard Brooklynn McAlear-Fanus, who finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.

"I can't say enough about Brooklynn. Even though her stats may not blow you away, she's not afraid to make a play and she's a great floor general for us," said Sparks.

With the win, the Gee-Gees will now travel to Hamilton to take on the McMaster Marauders who finished the regular season atop the OUA West division. The only meeting between the two teams this season was a 48-45 win for the Gee-Gees on Dec. 2 in Hamilton.

Looking ahead to next week's matchup with the Marauders, Coach Sparks said that despite the team's win in the regular season, they did not particularly play well against them.

"I think we've grown a lot since then," said Sparks. "I expect a great game and a good test for us".

Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees