WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Windsor, Laurier, Queen's and Carleton to fight for division titles
LONDON, Ont. – In a heartbreaking game that saw the Mustangs enter the fourth quarter boasting an eight-point lead, the Laurier Golden Hawks were able to fight back and shock the home team 53-43 in Alumni Hall, eliminating Western from the OUA playoffs.
"We got beat by a better team today," said Mustangs' head coach Brian Cheng after the game. "I think we are definitely as good as they are but in these [elimination games] you have got to show up for forty minutes. You have to give credit to Laurier; they were the better team today."
One of the OUA's emerging rivalries was renewed for the third time this season- the knock-out playoff game proving to be the final say in a season series that has to this point been as close as could be.
Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the final push never materialized on Saturday afternoon and Western fell short in its bid for OUA championship contention.
The first quarter was full of surprises for the Mustangs; the offensive powerhouse dialled back their usual early-game assault in favour of a slower-paced, deliberate attack. Even more surprising, Western head coach Brian Cheng unleashed a zone-defence, daring the Golden Hawks to settle for jump-shots.
That tactic paid off, with Laurier connecting on only 29.4% of their attempts. Heading into the playoffs, the Golden Hawks sat 16th in the OUA with 37.1% field-goal accuracy. Despite the Mustangs' aggressive defensive-set, turnovers and offensive rebounds would give the visitors a seven-shot advantage in the quarter, allowing Laurier to pull even with Western at 11 points apiece.
Coach Cheng switched back to Western's familiar man-to-man defence at the start of the second quarter and the Mustangs responded by allowing only nine points in the frame. While Western's offence had seemed restrained early in the game, the Purple and White exploded on that side of the ball as well, paced by 3-for-4 three-point shooting from long-range specialist Kelsey Wright. The lengthy veteran's nine points led all scorers at the half, but the wing made her presence felt on defence as well, tallying a steal and a block while locking down the Golden Hawks' perimeter threats.
After being down eight to start the second half, Laurier screamed back with nine unanswered points to take a 29-28 lead with just over five minutes to go in the third quarter. The remaining 15 minutes of play would live up to the teams' recent history of hard-fought, down-to-the-wire match-ups, which had seen Western earn their first-round playoff berth with a 65-57 victory over Laurier to round out the regular season and—a month earlier—Laurier win a dizzying 74-73 contest against the Mustangs at home in Waterloo, Ontario.
Western was able to build another eight-point lead to enter the fourth quarter, but the Golden Hawks roared back once again, this time with 15 unanswered points taking a 44-37 lead over the Mustangs.
Down five points with two minutes remaining, it would take one final push for the Mustangs to reclaim the lead.
Veteran forward Melissa Rondinelli corralled a missed Wright three for a put-back and-one. Rondinelli missed the ensuing foul shot, which the Golden Hawks followed with a mid-range jump-shot from the top of the key to stretch their lead back to five with 40.5 seconds left on the clock. An intentional foul from first-year Mustang Mackenzie Puklicz would put Laurier's Samantha Jacobs on the foul-line with two shots, meaning the same player who opened scoring in the first quarter for the Golden Hawks would have a chance to ice the win for her team. Jacobs did just that.
Intentional fouls and last-breath efforts would round out the remaining seconds of the game. By then, however, the damage had been done: Western would be eliminated from contention for the OUA crown.
Rondinelli led the game with 17 points. The OUA's top-scorer, fifth-year Jenny Vaughan, finished with only five points on 2-for-12 shooting.
The Golden Hawks were paced by 13 points from Jacobs and 10 points from Laura Doyle, the product of their balanced offence.
Source: Western Sports Info
Ottawa 39 @ Carleton 57
OTTAWA - The Carleton Ravens defeated their cross town rivals, the Ottawa Gee-Gees 57-39 on Saturday night in an OUA East semi-final to advance to next weekend’s division final.
The teams split their two regular season matchups but Carleton (16-6) finished ahead of the Gee-Gees (14-8) in the standings, giving Carleton home court advantage.
The game started out pretty tight with both teams emerging from the first quarter tied at 11.
That’s when Ravens head coach Taffe Charles decided to change things up.
“We (Carleton) made some adjustments to counter how Ottawa was playing against us,” Charles explained.
“Elizabeth (Roach) was playing a great first half and the rest of the team fed off her energy.”
The changes paid off as the second quarter featured a 12 point run by the Ravens which propelled Carleton into a 23-11 lead.
The Ravens defence kicked into gear as well not allowing a Gee-Gees bucket until the midway point of the second frame.
Carleton ended up outscoring Ottawa 18-6 in the second half as the teams headed to the dressing room with the Ravens up 29-17.
Ottawa gained some momentum in their third quarter outscoring Carleton 15-11 to cut into the Ravens lead and make it an 8 point game 40-32.
But with a shot at an OUA final clearly in their sights, the Ravens buckled down and shut the door on any thoughts of a Gee-Gees comeback with a strong fourth quarter and a 17-7 point differential in Carleton’s favour.
“We had all week to prepare for the Gee-Gees,” said Elizabeth Roach (Ottawa, ON).
“We went to Ottawa’s playoff game against York last Wednesday saw their tendencies and how they played. We had a solid game plan but needed to make a couple of small adjustments that paid off.”
Roach finished the night as the game’s leading scorer with 17 points, Ravens teammate Natasha Plaskacz (Chelsea, QC) chipped in with 11 and 5 rebounds. Lindsay Shotbolt (Markham, ON) had 10 points and 7 rebounds.
The Ravens will travel to Kingston next Saturday, March 1 for the OUA East final.
Source: Carleton Sports Info
Toronto 56 @ Queen's 67KINGSTON, Ont. (February 22, 2014) - The No.10-ranked Queen's women's basketball team is heading to the OUA East finals after defeating the Toronto Varsity Blues 67-56 on Saturday night in Kingston Ontario.
The electric atmosphere in the Athletics and Recreation Centre really set the pace for this OUA East semifinal matchup. It was a high-energy, defense-oriented game for the full 40 minutes.
In the first quarter Queen's caused eight Toronto turnovers and held a 19-10 lead at the start of the second. Toronto rallied back by getting to the line (6-6), picking up their defensive energy and scoring off of forced Gael turnovers. Jenny Wright (Kingston, Ont.) was the story of the first half for Queen's by keeping her team in the game offensively amidst Toronto's tenacious defensive efforts. She connected on some difficult takes to the hoop and finished the half leading all scorers with 13 points. Going into the second half, Queen's held the lead 38-34.
Jill Stratton of Toronto sparked the Varisty Blues in the third quarter by hitting loud back-to-back transition three's and shifting momentum to their favour. The Gaels were composed, they were tough and they got the job done on the defensive end. Throughout the second half, Queen's was able to string together great defensive efforts, which lead to good offensive shot opportunities. Toronto could not weather the tri-colour storm.
Liz Boag (Kingston, Ont.) was the leading scorer of the game with 21 points, with 12 of those coming from three-point land. Wright was right behind her with 16 points, and Gemma Bullard (Guelph, Ont.) added 11 of her own. Alicia Van Kampen of Toronto was the high scorer for her team with 17 points, followed by Jill Stratton who added 15.
The Gaels will now host the Carleton Ravens in the OUA East Finals next Saturday March 1st at 6pm at the Athletics and Recreation Centre.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
McMaster 64 @ Windsor 83
The No. 1 ranked Lancer women's basketball team defeated the McMaster Marauders 83-64 on Saturday evening in the OUA West Semi-Finals at the St. Denis Centre.
Jessica Clemencon had the game's only double-double with a game high 23 pionts and 10 rebounds. Miah-marie Langlois also hit double digits with 18 points, while Korissa Williams chipped in 13 points.
The Marauders kept the game close in the first half as Windsor only held a six point, 19-13 lead after the first quarter and a 38-27 lead at halftime.
The Blue & Gold made a push in the third quarter and outscored the Marauders 25-16 to take a 63-43 lead heading into the final stanza. McMaster played a strong fourth quarter but Windsor kept them at bay and won the contest.
The Lancers will now host the Laurier Golden Hawks next Saturday at 7:00pm at the St. Denis Centre.
Source: Windsor Sports Info
The Lancers will now host the Laurier Golden Hawks next Saturday at 7:00pm at the St. Denis Centre. Stay tuned to www.goLancers.ca for more information.
