Marauders mount dramatic comeback to advance to OUA Final, U SPORTS Championship

HAMILTON, Ont. - In an offensively-starved contest, it was the frantic late pressure of the Marauders and an ill-timed Gee-Gees mistake that ultimately swung the teams' razor-close OUA semi final Wednesday and earned McMaster the right to host the Critelli Cup final for the first time in 11 years.

Holding a 46-45 lead with 16 seconds to play, the Gee-Gees were called on a five-second violation and yielded possession, before Marauder all-star Linnaea Harper(Newmarket, ON) drained a pair of foul shots on the ensuing drive to give her team a 47-46 lead with eight seconds remaining.
 
Ottawa's final possession ended with an unsuccessful drive to the lane, and McMaster sealed the one-point win to advance to the OUA final for the first time in a decade.

With the win, McMaster also secured a berth at the U SPORTS Championship, marking their first appearance in the national tournament since playing host to it in 2010. The 2018 edition will be contested between March 8-11 in Regina.

The Marauders last trip to the conference championship game came in 2008, when McMaster defeated the University of Toronto Blues 69-59 in Toronto. They last hosted the game at Burridge Gym in 2007, ultimately losing out to the York Lions.

Having earned the right to host the OUA final once again in 2018, McMaster will now welcome the Carleton Ravens to Burridge Gym on Saturday, March 3 for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff.

The defending OUA champion Ravens advanced to the final with a 61-48 win over the Windsor Lancers in Ottawa Wednesday.

GAME FLOW

Although theirs was not a high-scoring affair, the Marauders pieced together a number of strong performances to win, leaning on the efforts of OUA First Team All Star Hilary Hanaka (Hamilton, ON). The McMaster guard put up 12 points for the Marauders, shooting 44 per cent on four of nine from the field.

Forward Olivia Wilson (Lion's Head, ON) got her game rolling early and was still able to contribute offensively after Ottawa locked down the paint. Wilson finished the game with 12 points and shot 38 per cent (5-13).

The guard-forward duo of Brooklynn McAlear-Fanus and Briggitte Lefebvre-Okankwu both totalled 14 points for the Gee-Gees in their team's loss.

McMaster got out to an early 7-0 lead in the opening quarter, forcing Ottawa to call a timeout.

The Gee Gees came out of the timeout to go on their own streak and holding onto the 12-9 lead at the end of the quarter. Ottawa continued their silencing of the Marauders into the second quarter, holding them to a single bucket for nearly eight minutes.

Ottawa managed to congest the paint in the defensive end of the court, thanks in large part to the performance of their 6'5" forward Angela Ribarich. The Gee Gees finished the half out-rebounding the Marauders by 12, as they extended their lead to 21-15 by the end of the first half.

Marauders head coach Theresa Burns made offensive adjustments at halftime, which saw McMaster operate much of their offence from the top of the key in the third quarter, aiding in narrowing the Ottawa lead to 35-33 at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter brought out the drama, as both squads swapped leads in the final quarter and to add to the storyline, the Marauders and Gee Gees both found themselves in the penalty early.

Source: McMaster Marauders