CIS women's basketball Wednesday roundup

Photo credit Richard Whittaker

Dalhousie	60	StFX	62	Final	Box Score

Ryerson	56	Toronto	87	Final	Box Score
TORONTO - The Varsity Blues women’s basketball team moves back into a tie for second place in the OUA East after an 87-56 win over the Ryerson Rams on Wednesday, January 18 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym. The Blues (8-5) are deadlocked with the Carleton Ravens (8-5), who fell 59-55 to the Ottawa Gee-Gees (11-2) tonight, for second place. Ryerson drops to 5-8 and sits in sixth place. Fifth-year guard Joanna Medri was named the Varsity Blue player of the game, tallying 15 points, four rebounds, four steals and four assists on the night. Sophomore standout Jill Stratton (Etobicoke, Ont.) recorded a team-high 16 points, while adding five boards and four assists. Brampton, Ont., native Sherri Pierce also had 15 points and a game-high five assists, while Liane Baily added 10 points and six rebounds in the win. The first quarter was a see-saw battle as the game tied four times before the Blues took a slight lead. U of T carried a three-point advantage (22-19) into the second quarter, only to have Ryerson come back in the first three minutes. Toronto did not deflate, and went on an 8-3 run for the remainder of the low-scoring quarter to build a 34-28 lead at halftime. The Blues struggled from beyond the arc, going 1-for-11 in the first half, while Ashley MacDonald led the charge for Ryerson with 13 points, including three three-pointers. U of T opened the second half on an 18-3 run to build a commanding 15-point lead that would not diminish. The Rams started to show glimpses of a rally late in the third as Toronto was up 58-39 heading into the fourth quarter. The Rams drained four free throws to start the fourth quarter, only to be answered by four Toronto three-pointers, two from Medri and one each from Pierce and Stratton. The Blues went onto outscore Ryerson 29-17 in the fourth to round out the dominant win. Toronto shot 60% from the floor, including 6-of-12 from three-point land, combining for an impressive 53 points in the second half. MacDonald led all players with 21 points, while Angela Tilk recorded a double-double of 11 points and 11 boards. Alexandra Tkaczyk had a game-high 13 rebounds in the loss. The Varsity Blues return to the court this Friday, January 20 as they head to Sudbury, Ont., to take on the Laurentian Lady Vees. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. Source: Toronto Sports Info
Windsor	85	Western	55	Final	Box Score
LONDON, Ont. – The No. 2 CIS-ranked Windsor Lancers jumped out of the gate Wednesday night and didn’t look back en route to a dominant 85-55 win over the hometown Western Mustangs at Alumni Hall. Leading 23-13 after the first quarter, the Lancers held the Mustangs to just eight second-quarter points and carried a 45-21 lead into the half. It was smooth sailing from that point on for Windsor, who improved to a division-leading 12-2 with the win. The Mustangs fell to 5-8, but remain tied for fifth place in the OUA West. Jessica Clemencon was the top scorer for the Lancers Wednesday night, tallying 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting, while also adding eight rebounds. Miah-Marie Langlois had 17 points and seven rebounds for Windsor, while Iva Peklova had a game-high 12 boards. Laura Dally, last week’s GoodLife Fitness Athlete of the Week, led the Mustangs offensively, going 9-for-20 from the field for 21 points. The second-year guard also added five rebounds. Jory McDonald, meanwhile, had a team-high eight rebounds. Jenny Vaughan, Western’s leading scorer (14.2 ppg) heading into the contest, struggled from the floor Wednesday night, and finished just 2-of-12 for seven points. As a team, the Mustangs shot 36.1% (22-for-61) overall, and 33.3% (4-for-12) from three-point range, while the Lancers went 42.7% (32-for-75) from the field, and 47.6% (10-for-21) from beyond the arc. Windsor dominated the boards, outrebounding the Western women 52-32 on the night. The Mustangs (5-8) are back in action this Saturday, Jan. 21, when they’ll host the Laurier Golden Hawks (9-4) at 1:00 p.m. at Alumni Hall. Source: Western Sports Info
Brock	72	Waterloo	55	Final	Box Score

Laurier	75	Guelph	69	Final	Box Score
GUELPH, Ont. – The Gryphon women’s basketball team dropped a 75-69 final tonight to the Laurier Golden Hawks at the W.F. Mitchell Athletic Centre. It was a tale of two halves for the Gryphons, as they stormed out to an early lead, only to see their hopes slip away thanks to some costly misses at the free throw line. After hitting 87% from the line in the first half, Guelph was only able to convert 45% in the second half from the charity stripe. With the loss, the Gryphon’s fall to 5-8 on the season, while Laurier improves to 9-4. Leading the Gryphon’s in scoring was Ali Dzikowski (Brantford, Ont.), who netted 15 points, while Samantha Russell (Paradise Valley, AZ), Kayla Goodhoofd (Oakville, Ont.), and Jasmine Douglas (Guelph, Ont.) all added 14 points apiece. Douglas also grabbed a game high 13 rebounds, while Goodhoofd added a game high six steals. Point guard Marlee Freeman (Orillia, Ont.) ran the offence effectively, committing no turnovers and played exceptional defence throughout, while pacing the Gryphons with five assists. Felicia Mazerolle had a do-everything game for the Golden Hawks, going for 17 points, seven rebounds, and five steals, all team highs. Kimberley Yeldon added 14 points and seven boards, with Laura Doyle scoring all 12 of her points from behind the three point line. Guelph opened the game using sound ball movement to take an early 21-15 advantage. Russell was especially effective early on, scoring eight points in the opening quarter, finishing a nice passing play with an easy layup in the lane. Rookie Barbara Inrig-Pieterse added five straight points to close out the quarter on a high note. Laurier cut into the Gryphon lead behind Mazerolle, who shot an impressive 5-for-7 from the field in the opening half while effectively running the Hawks offence. Shelby Kurt came off the bench to add eight points by halftime, and Guelph held a slight 33-32 lead. Goodhoofd opened up the second half on a tear, scoring five straight points to push the Guelph advantage. Laurier was able to close the deficit to 44-44 thanks in large part to a strong defensive effort, while the Gryphon’s continually shot themselves in the foot with costly turnovers. By the end of the third, Laurier had taken a 55-53 lead, shooting 53% in the third quarter. The final quarter saw Laurier jump out on a 7-0 run to take a 62-53 lead just two minutes into the fourth. Yeldon scored seven in the final quarter, while Mazerolle maintained her solid play throughout to give the Gryphon’s fits on defence. Guelph answered back with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to just 62-61, but couldn’t convert their free-throws, hitting just 4-of-10 in the fourth. Guelph will hope to put an end to their road woes when they take on the Waterloo Warriors Saturday, January 21st. Tipoff is scheduled for 1pm. Source: Guelph Sports Info
Carleton	55	Ottawa	59	Final	Box Score

OTTAWA - The stage was set for one of the biggest games in CIS women’s basketball as the seventh nationally ranked Gee-Gees hosted the sixth place Carleton Ravens at the fifth annual Capital Hoops Classic at Scotiabank Place. It would come down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter, and a Gee-Gees’ offensive push and defensive shut down of the Ravens for the Garnet and Grey to capture their first Capital Hoops title with a 59-55 victory.

“It’s bittersweet,” said head coach Andy Sparks, “We didn’t play our best, and Carleton would probably say the same thing. It’s a case of both teams not allowing the other team to look good, we know what they do and they know what we do and we just kind of took each other out in a defensive battle.”

The game opened at a slow pace with neither team seeming to find their stride. The Gee-Gees upped the tempo in the second frame, being more aggressive on the court as well as demonstrating better ball movement through their well-rounded midrange attack and press defence. Back to back threes from fourth-year forward Jenna Gilbert (Ottawa, Ont.) and first-year Ariane Lachance-Scantland (Gatineau, Qué.) early in the second seemed to get the Gee-Gees offence moving.

Neither team was able to get a sustained offence started until Carleton went on an eight point run to end the second, built almost completely from an inside the paint assault. They were leading the Gee-Gees by three at half. The Gee-Gees were in definite need of the half-time adjustments, as a visibly frustrated Sparks headed to the change room to talk things over with team.

“We came out a little flat in the beginning, and we were sort of letting them do what they wanted in offence,” said fifth-year guard Teddi Firmi (Kitchener, Ont.), “When we came in after half, we re-focused ourselves. We just had to go out there and play hard and not be a victim in the game. Carleton’s a really good team; they’re a very smart team defensively. We knew that coming in it was going to be tough to score some baskets on offense.”

After limited playing time in the first half, fifth-year centre Hannah Sunley-Paisley (Toronto, Ont.) proved to be the scoring threat that’s been so deadly to the Gee-Gees opponents so far this season. She stacked up the Gee-Gees’ first seven points of the second half, lighting up the Gee-Gees Scotiabank fan base along the way. A buzzer beater three pointer by Carleton would secure them the lead at the end of the quarter once again.

And as Sunley-Paisley took over in the third, so Gilbert took over in the fourth as she opened up the Gee-Gees scoring with a pair of free throws, a lay-up from the paint and a three-pointer from behind the arc. The Ravens stifled the Gee-Gees offence heading into the final minutes, scoring seven unanswered points to take a four point lead with two minutes remaining.

“Trying to keep your composure,” emphasized Firmi on the Gee-Gees in the final minutes, “The game’s not over until the final buzzer goes, and I think that we just knew we had to keep battling and keep working hard. And hopefully things will shift our way and eventually it did.”

A free throw from Sunley-Paisley, followed by a rebound basket and free throw for the three point play by Gilbert tied up the game with just over a minute remaining and proved to be the turning point for the Garnet and Grey. The Gee-Gees followed it up with several crucial stops on defence and another basket by Gilbert. A pair of free throws by Sunley-Paisley would secure the win.

Gilbert led the Gee-Gees with 19 points, while Sunley-Paisley stacked up a double-double with her 13 points, 12 rebounds. Fifth-year forward Bess Lennox (Ottawa, Ont.) would also chip in with 7 points and 11 rebounds.

“It’s nice to do that on my last year, to finally get a win here,” said Sunley-Paisley, excited at the team’s present 11 game win streak, “I love it; it’s awesome. We’re definitely getting together and I hope we can keep it going.”

“It was a nice push down the finish to get the win,” concluded Sparks, “But win or lose, it wasn’t going to affect what direction we were going. But it’s much better to win than lose.”

The Gee-Gees will have a relatively short turnover time as they must now shift their focus to hosting RMC and Queen’s this Friday and Saturday, both games at 6:00 p.m. at Montpetit Hall. (SSN Canada)

Source: Ottawa Sports Info