CIS women's basketball Sunday roundup: Ravens hold on to upset Blues in OUA East final

With the win, the Gee-Gees will now travel to London, Ont., to face the Western Mustangs in the OUA fifth-place game. The Mustangs were upset by the Laurier Golden Hawks in OUA West semi-final action, before defeating Lakehead 71-59 in the third-place game today.

A Toronto native, Sunley-Paisley recorded a game-high 19 points and 15 boards, while Gilbert (Ottawa) had 18 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and two steals to earn player of the game honours.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team building a substantial advantage. Sunley Paisley solidified her double-double performance with 10 points and 11 boards in the first half alone, while fourth-year guard Ashley MacDonald of Port Colborne, Ont., held a hot hand for Ryerson with nine points.

Ryerson built a narrow 25-24 lead at halftime.

Ottawa broke the game wide open in the third, outscoring Ryerson 22-12. The Gee-Gees started the second half on an 8-3 run, with Gilbert recording nine points and seven boards to give Ottawa a nine-point lead (46-37) at the end of third quarter.

The Gee-Gees continued to widen the gap, starting the fourth with a 7-0 run over the first 4:30 of action. MacDonald broke the scoring lapse with a three midway through the fourth, but it wasn't enough as Ottawa came away with the 11-point victory.

MacDonald led the Rams with 15 points and eight rebounds, while both Angela Tilk and Ashley Clarke had nine points in the loss.

With the victory, the Lancers will now host the OUA Women's Basketball Championship next Saturday at 7pm here in Windsor.

The Lancers got a strong performance from second year guard Miah Langlois who finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists en route to being named the Wilson OUA Player of the Game.

On Sunday, Windsor built an 18-13 lead after one quarter of play and extended their lead to 15 points in the second quarter. Coach Vallee's squad used a balanced scoring attack and some stingy defense to add to their lead as they held Laurier to only 21 points in the half and led 36-21.

The Golden Hawks fought back in the third quarter as they began to get the ball inside for some hard fought baskets. The visitors outscored Windsor 23-16 in the third to cut the lead to single digits at 52-44 heading into the final ten minutes.

The fourth quarter was an intense battle as both teams had to word extremely hard for points. Laurier was able to tie the score at 56-56 late in the game before a Lancer run sealed the 65-59 victory.

In addition to Langlois' outstanding performance, the Lancers got 11 points from Bojana Kovacevic and 9 points and 8 rebounds from Jessica Clemencon. Emily Abbott chipped in with 9 points including a timely bucket in the closing minute that helped secure the win.

Windsor will prepare this week for the OUA Women's Basketball Championship which will take place next Saturday at 7pm at the St. Denis Centre.

With the win, the Ravens advance to the OUA final versus the Windsor Lancers next Saturday, March 5 in Windsor, Ont. The Lancers handily defeated the Lakehead Thunderwolves in OUA West semifinal action before coming away with a 65-59 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks in the West final this afternoon.

The Blues will host the Golden Hawks in the OUA bronze-medal match, also next Saturday.

Fourth-year forward Ashleigh Cleary of Kemptville, Ont., led the Ravens with 12 points, while Kendall MacLeod of Brockville, Ont., had 10 points and a team-high seven boards on the night. Third-year guard Alyson Bush of Ottawa totalled 10 points and eight assists and was named the player of the game for her efforts.

The game started as a back-and-forth battle, however the Blues surged ahead to take a 13-8 lead after the first 10 minutes of action.

Carleton went on a 12-4 run to take a three-point lead midway through the second quarter, but a Joanna Medri three with 2:34 remaining would cap off first-half scoring as the game was deadlocked at 20-20 at halftime.

The Ravens scored on their first two possessions of the second half to take a four-point lead, only to be countered by a Nicki Schutz three. Carleton continued to press with U of T never more than six points behind. Schutz added eight more points in the third and the Ravens held a narrow 35-34 advantage heading into the fourth.

Carlton's Jessica Resch opened the fourth with a three-pointer but some hard work by Schutz under Toronto's basket kept the game within reach. MacLeod nailed another three to give the Ravens a five-point advantage (43-38) midway through the frame.

Each time the Blues brought the game within two, the Ravens would respond to maintain a two-possession cushion. A Sherri Pierce three with 4.3 seconds remaining would bring the game within one, but a pair of MacLeod free throws would put the game out of reach as the Ravens came away with the three-point victory.

Schutz led all players with 20 points and eight rebounds, while veteran guard Erin McNeely of Kingston, Ont., had 10 points, eight boards and four assists. Pierce ended the night with nine points and four assists in the loss.