March 5, 2016

Ottawa knocks off Guelph 55-43, will host inaugural Critelli Cup Final Four

A packed crowd came out to witness the OUA quarter-final battle showcasing the Ottawa women’s basketball team against the Guelph University Gryphons. The atmosphere was tense in the Capital as both teams fought to avoid elimination in this do-or-die game. Together the teams rallied with heart and passion as bodies hit the floor scraping up loose balls and stray rebounds, but in the end it was the Gee-Gees who will move onto the semifinal round of playoffs with a final score of 55-43.

Guelph

Ottawa

Final

Guelph

Ottawa

A packed crowd came out to witness the OUA quarter-final battle showcasing the Ottawa women's basketball team against the Guelph University Gryphons. The atmosphere was tense in the Capital as both teams fought to avoid elimination in this do-or-die game. Together the teams rallied with heart and passion as bodies hit the floor scraping up loose balls and stray rebounds, but in the end it was the Gee-Gees who will move onto the semifinal round of playoffs with a final score of 55-43.

As the top seed in the OUA playoffs, Ottawa will now host the OUA Critelli Cup Final Four championship next weekend. The Gee-Gees will face the McMaster Marauders in the OUA semifinal round, with Ryerson and Windsor completing the bracket at Montpetit Hall.

Tickets will be available at tickets.geegees.ca

The Gee-Gees came into this game looking to hone in on the defensive end of the floor. Guelph mirrored that approach and both teams had difficulty putting up points in this low-scoring basketball game.

"Definitely a real solid defensive effort," notes Gee-Gees head coach Andy Sparks. "Full credit to Guelph, they really scrapped hard and made some good plays."

Opposing post players Kate Mctavish and Katherine Lemoine battled for control of the blocks throughout the match. McTavish, with the Gryphon team high of 14 points also walked away with 5 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist. Lemoine, returning from injury, made her presence on the floor known as she backed down defenders and bodied up in the paint putting up the game high of 16 points and 8 rebounds.

More on the offensive end from the Gee-Gees, Kellie Ring hammered in a three-point play forcing the crowd to their feet in the final minutes of the game. Ring drove it down the lane and hit some clean pull-ups finishing the game with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and a steal and assist a piece.

A defensive battle to start the game kept the tally within single-figures as the first quarter closed with an 8-2 lead for the Gee-Gees. Guelph's only bucket was notched by Bridget Atkinson, but It didn't take long for her to find her groove as the second-year guard finished nifty lay-ups and pull-up jumpers polishing off nine points, four steals and a hefty ten rebounds for the five-foot-eight guard.

Dana Van Balkom for Guelph displayed her athleticism with her four steals and eight rebounds. The guard didn't show signs of slowing as she also drained two three-point jumpers, dropping 12 points for the Gryphons.

Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees