Bruce leads Golden Hawks to School Day game victory
WATERLOO, Ont. (February 25, 2016) - On the strength of an impressive first half performance, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women’s basketball team closed out their regular season schedule in style on Thursday as they posted a 72-53 victory over the Waterloo Warriors in Laurier’s second annual School Day basketball game.
WATERLOO, Ont. (February 25, 2016) - On the strength of an impressive first half performance, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's basketball team closed out their regular season schedule in style on Thursday as they posted a 72-53 victory over the Waterloo Warriors in Laurier's second annual School Day basketball game.
Fifth year guard Courtney Bruce of Orillia, Ont., playing her final home game at the Athletic Complex in front of 1,619 fans, helped spur a 48-point outburst in the opening half as she scored 12 of her 15 points on the day to give Laurier an insurmountable lead.
As a team, the Hawks shot 48.7 percent in the first two quarters of the contest, compared to just 21.1 percent by the Warriors as they led 48-20 at the half.
Waterloo pushed back to start the third quarter as they cut the lead down to 15 thanks to a 13-0 run to open the frame but a 9-2 run by the Hawks to close the quarter put the game out of reach.
Joining Bruce in leading the offence for the purple and gold was Nicole Morrison of Hamilton, who had 12 points, giving her 312 points this season, the fourth most in team history.
Sarah Dillon of Welland, Ont., and Lauren Jamieson of Oakville, Ont., chipped in with 11 and 10 respectively.
Heather Payne of North Bay, Ont., another Hawk playing in her final home game, was a presence in the paint for Laurier as she finished with 14 rebounds, a new single-game career high, to go along with five points.
For the Warriors, it was Emily Wilk of Oakville, Ont., leading the charge as she finished the game with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The victory closes out the regular season for both teams as the Hawks finish the year with a 9-11 record while the Warriors wrap up their season at 4-16.
Laurier, the third place team in the OUA West division, will now wait to see how the remainder of the regular season plays out across the conference this weekend to see who their first round playoff opponent will be. Based on the current RPI standings, the Hawks are shaping up to play one of their West division rivals, either the Western Mustangs or the Windsor Lancers, or the McMaster Marauders on the road on Wednesday, March 2.
Stay tuned to laurierathletics.com for complete playoff information.
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
