Host Gryphons beat Alberta to finish on winning note

GUELPH, Ont. (CIS) – The tournament host Guelph Gryphons scored the first 20 points of the second half to defeat the Alberta Pandas 25-8 in the fifth-place match of the CIS women's rugby championship at Alumni Stadium, Sunday morning.

The OUA silver medallist Gryphons end the competition with a 1-2 record, while the Canada West champion Pandas return home with an 0-3 mark, a year after claiming the Monilex Trophy thanks to a 29-10 win over Guelph in the national final in Quebec City.

All-Canadian Brittany Priddle (Badjeros, Ont.) opened the scoring with a try only five minute in for the Gryphons, who were then kept off the score sheet for the remainder of the opening period.   

A penalty kick by Alberta's Rebecca Fairbairn in the 33rd minute made it 5-3 at the break.

Two minutes into the second half, Alexandra King (Ottawa), a former OUA all-star goalie in soccer, showed off her strong boot by splitting the uprights from 35 metres out to give Guelph an 8-3 lead. 

At the 57-minute mark, Laura Van Bommel (Springfield, Ont.) broke through the Alberta line for a big run deep into Pandas territory. It led to a try by Jennifer Dunn (West Vancouver, B.C.), another former soccer player on the Guelph roster, putting the Gryphons up 13-3.

Dunn's second try of the match in the 67th minute extended Guelph's advantage to 18-3 and Bronwyn McCrone (Mississauga, Ont.) provided the exclamation mark on the victory with a punishing try in the 77th minute as she bulldozed over several Alberta players.

The Pandas would add a try of their own in the final minute, courtesy of Stacie Becker (Sturgeon County, Alta.). 

"Our execution was much better today and the scoreboard finally reflected the quality of rugby that we are capable of playing," said Guelph head coach Colette McAuley.

While the Pandas finished the week without a win, head coach Matt Parrish was pleased with the character his players showed in Sunday's match.

"For a fifth-year player like Stacie Becker to find a way to score a try in the final minute of the match, it was a pretty nice way for her to end her career. And for a fifth-place game, I thought today's match featured two really good teams."

Source: CIS