February 21, 2009
OUA W-BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: HOME TEAMS ADVANCE TO SEMI-FINALS
WINDSOR, Ont. - The No. 2 nationally-ranked Windsor Lancers Women's Basketball team survived a scare from a determined Laurier team as they held on for the 78-67 victory in the OUA West Division semi-final on Saturday afternoon at the St. Denis Centre.
With the win, the Lancers now advance to the OUA West Championship game on Wednesday evening against the Western Mustangs. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the St. Denis Centre.
On Saturday, Windsor and Laurier battled hard in the first 10 minutes as neither team could gain an advantage over the other. The Lancers led the Golden Hawks 11-10 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Lancers got on a bit of a roll as they built an eight-point lead thanks to some solid pressure defence. The Golden Hawks responded with a small run of their own and trailed Windsor 30-25 at the break.
The second half continued to be a see-saw affair as both teams hung tough and neither let their opponent get away from them. Windsor led 52-45 after three quarters of play.
Windsor was able to finally pull away early in the fourth quarter before Laurier mounted a furious comeback and trailed only 70-65 with two minutes remaining. However, the Lancers got some clutch baskets down the stretch and held on for the thrilling 78-67 victory.
In the win, Alisa Wulff (Pickering, Ont.) led all scorers with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Dranadia Roc (Montreal, Que.) added 15 points while Iva Peklova (Prague, Czech Republic) finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Laurier's Renata Adamczyk (Dundas, Ont.) scored a team-high 14 points in a losing effort.
Source: Lancers Athletics
Photo Credit: Michael P. Hall
WESTERN 69, MCMASTER 61
LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs overcame their playoff demons, beating the defending OUA champion McMaster Marauders 69-61 on Feb. 21 in an exciting West Division semi-final game at Alumni Hall.
Western's veterans played with tremendous poise in a tense second half, as Amanda Anderson (Chatham, Ont.), Bess Lennox (Ottawa, Ont.), Megan Lapointe (Burlington, Ont.) and Nadine Paron (Arva, Ont.) all scored in double figures.
The Mustangs won their first playoff game since Feb. 19, 2003, and ended McMaster's three-year reign as OUA West champs. Western had lost five straight playoff games at Alumni Hall.
Anderson led all scorers with 22 points, including 14 in the second half, while Taylor Smith (Hamilton, Ont.) led McMaster with 19 points and seven assists. Lennox scored 11 points to go with 13 rebounds, and recorded her 12th consecutive double-double, dating back to the regular season.
McMaster played with energy from the opening tip, as Sara Pilon-Bignell's (Ancaster, Ont.) fast break lay-up gave the Marauders an 8-4 lead, before Anderson drilled a trey for Western. The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, and finished the first quarter tied at 12.
In the second, McMaster used hot shooting to jump ahead.
Smith and Amanda D'Ortenzio (Hamilton, Ont.) each hit two three-pointers in the quarter, as Smith's second gave McMaster a 28-21 lead, their biggest of the game.
Trailing by four at halftime, Western used a 21-10 third quarter to steal the momentum and take over the game.
Lapointe opened the half with a turnaround jumper in the lane. Anderson followed with a trey, before Lennox recorded a traditional three-point play, and followed that with two more free throws. Moments later, Paron nailed a three-pointer to give the Mustangs a 44-39 lead.
Western never looked back, while the Marauders faded down the stretch.
In the fourth, the Mustangs worked the ball inside, and dominated the paint. Lennox opened the quarter with a tough lay-up, before Lapointe gave Western a 56-45 lead with a lay-up of her own.
D'Ortenzio's three-pointer closed the gap to six, but Paron responded with a lay-up to spark a 9-0 Mustangs run. Kim Hurley (Stratford, Ont.) knocked down a pull-up jumper, before Anderson hit a dagger three-pointer from the right corner with 3:15 to play.
Source: Mustangs Athletics
OTTAWA 56, CARLETON 49
OTTAWA, Ont. - Fourth-year transfer guard Allison Forbes (Riverview, N.B.) scored 12 points, including the final free-throw in the Ottawa Gee-Gees 56-49 playoff win over Carleton Saturday afternoon in the OUA women's basketball East Division semi-final.
"Coach had us extremely well prepared," gleamed Forbes, as the Gee-Gees avenged two regular season losses against the Ravens to advance to Wednesday's OUA East Division final at Toronto for the first time since Feb. 27, 2005.
"We will definitely be ready," said Forbes.
The Gee-Gees broke through a tightly defended game that featured a swing of no more than four points for a six-point lead in the late stages of the fourth quarter.
"You prepare them for a game, but when it comes to getting on the court, that's their job," said Gee-Gees first-year head coach Andy Sparks. "I don't think they are afraid."
Ravens fourth-year guard Tanya Perry (Barrie, Ont.) was carried off the court with 6:37 remaining in the third quarter with an apparent left ankle injury. She did not return.
"When arguably our best player doesn't play you try to fill gaps," said Ravens head coach Taffe Charles. "It was hard to overcome."
The Gee-Gees, which won a dozen more regular season games this year after a 3-19 finish in 2007-08, held the lead just twice in the first half but kept the score close as Perry scored 12 points in 18 minutes – both game-highs at that point – for a 26-25 Ravens lead at the half.
A two-point lob inside by second-year post Hannah Sunley-Paisley (Toronto, Ont.) with time ticking gave the Gee-Gees a three-point lead (40-37) through three quarters.
"I wasn't ready for the season to end today," said Ottawa fourth-year guard Kyrie Love (Ottawa, Ont.), after an inspired eight points and four rebounds over 22 minutes. "I didn't want any coulda, wouldas."
Source: Gee-Gees Athletics
TORONTO 78, RYERSON 69
TORONTO, Ont. - The inside presence of Varsity Blues forwards Tara Kinnear and Nicki Schutz proved to be too much for the Ryerson Rams as the University of Toronto women's basketball team escaped with a 78-69 OUA quarter-final victory on Saturday at U of T's Sports Gym.
Kinnear (Kemptville, Ont.) and Schutz (Toronto, Ont.) each recorded a double-double in their first playoff game for the Varsity Blues. Kinnear led the way early in the contest, tallying 17 points and nine boards in the first 20 minutes of action.
Schutz, for her part, knocked down 14 of her 20 points, and eight of her 15 rebounds in the second half as Toronto battled back late in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
The Varsity Blues will now move on and host the Ottawa Gee-Gees in one of the OUA semi-final match-ups on Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.
Toronto got off to a great start offensively, breaking Ryerson's full-court press and finishing easy two-on-one situations at the other end. Defensively, the Blues were just as tough under the basket and on the boards, out-rebounding the Rams 28-13 in the first half and stealing the ball eight times to their two.
As a team, the Blues were 44 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the free-throw line and outscored their opponent 41-24 through two quarters. At the end of the game the Varsity Blues had out-rebounded the Rams 54-30.
The third quarter was a completely different story as the Rams continued to press and were able to create turnovers of their own, while knocking down key three-point baskets from to pull within six at the end of the frame.
Led by the team's leading scorer Lisa Goldring (Burlington, Ont.), the Rams shot the lights out in the third, going 9-of-17 (52 percent) from the field and 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) from three-point range.
Ryerson would continue to carry that momentum into the fourth quarter and would take the lead after Ashley MacDonald (Port Colbourne, Ont.) knocked down two huge baskets from beyond the arc that would give the Rams their first lead of the game at the 6:41 mark of the final frame.
Coming back in the game after a face-first fall to the floor, Schutz would lift her team with two key buckets and timely free throws to put Toronto back in front with less than three minutes to go in the game.
Ryerson misses and Toronto's made free throws would be the difference down the stretch as the Blues hung on to an exciting 78-69 quarter-final victory.
Kinnear led the way with her team-high 22 points and 17 rebounds, complimented nicely by Schutz' 20 and 15. Alaine Hutton (Hamilton, Ont.) added 12 points, six assists, four steals and one block.
Goldring had a game-high 23 points and four assists, while MacDonald and Kaitlyn Taylor (Sydney, N.S.) added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Lacey O'Sullivan (Port Colborne, Ont.) had a team-high six rebounds.
Source: Varsity Blues Athletics
With the win, the Lancers now advance to the OUA West Championship game on Wednesday evening against the Western Mustangs. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the St. Denis Centre.
On Saturday, Windsor and Laurier battled hard in the first 10 minutes as neither team could gain an advantage over the other. The Lancers led the Golden Hawks 11-10 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Lancers got on a bit of a roll as they built an eight-point lead thanks to some solid pressure defence. The Golden Hawks responded with a small run of their own and trailed Windsor 30-25 at the break.
The second half continued to be a see-saw affair as both teams hung tough and neither let their opponent get away from them. Windsor led 52-45 after three quarters of play.
Windsor was able to finally pull away early in the fourth quarter before Laurier mounted a furious comeback and trailed only 70-65 with two minutes remaining. However, the Lancers got some clutch baskets down the stretch and held on for the thrilling 78-67 victory.
In the win, Alisa Wulff (Pickering, Ont.) led all scorers with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Dranadia Roc (Montreal, Que.) added 15 points while Iva Peklova (Prague, Czech Republic) finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Laurier's Renata Adamczyk (Dundas, Ont.) scored a team-high 14 points in a losing effort.
Source: Lancers Athletics
Photo Credit: Michael P. Hall
WESTERN 69, MCMASTER 61
LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs overcame their playoff demons, beating the defending OUA champion McMaster Marauders 69-61 on Feb. 21 in an exciting West Division semi-final game at Alumni Hall.
Western's veterans played with tremendous poise in a tense second half, as Amanda Anderson (Chatham, Ont.), Bess Lennox (Ottawa, Ont.), Megan Lapointe (Burlington, Ont.) and Nadine Paron (Arva, Ont.) all scored in double figures.
The Mustangs won their first playoff game since Feb. 19, 2003, and ended McMaster's three-year reign as OUA West champs. Western had lost five straight playoff games at Alumni Hall.
Anderson led all scorers with 22 points, including 14 in the second half, while Taylor Smith (Hamilton, Ont.) led McMaster with 19 points and seven assists. Lennox scored 11 points to go with 13 rebounds, and recorded her 12th consecutive double-double, dating back to the regular season.
McMaster played with energy from the opening tip, as Sara Pilon-Bignell's (Ancaster, Ont.) fast break lay-up gave the Marauders an 8-4 lead, before Anderson drilled a trey for Western. The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, and finished the first quarter tied at 12.
In the second, McMaster used hot shooting to jump ahead.
Smith and Amanda D'Ortenzio (Hamilton, Ont.) each hit two three-pointers in the quarter, as Smith's second gave McMaster a 28-21 lead, their biggest of the game.
Trailing by four at halftime, Western used a 21-10 third quarter to steal the momentum and take over the game.
Lapointe opened the half with a turnaround jumper in the lane. Anderson followed with a trey, before Lennox recorded a traditional three-point play, and followed that with two more free throws. Moments later, Paron nailed a three-pointer to give the Mustangs a 44-39 lead.
Western never looked back, while the Marauders faded down the stretch.
In the fourth, the Mustangs worked the ball inside, and dominated the paint. Lennox opened the quarter with a tough lay-up, before Lapointe gave Western a 56-45 lead with a lay-up of her own.
D'Ortenzio's three-pointer closed the gap to six, but Paron responded with a lay-up to spark a 9-0 Mustangs run. Kim Hurley (Stratford, Ont.) knocked down a pull-up jumper, before Anderson hit a dagger three-pointer from the right corner with 3:15 to play.
Source: Mustangs Athletics
OTTAWA 56, CARLETON 49
OTTAWA, Ont. - Fourth-year transfer guard Allison Forbes (Riverview, N.B.) scored 12 points, including the final free-throw in the Ottawa Gee-Gees 56-49 playoff win over Carleton Saturday afternoon in the OUA women's basketball East Division semi-final.
"Coach had us extremely well prepared," gleamed Forbes, as the Gee-Gees avenged two regular season losses against the Ravens to advance to Wednesday's OUA East Division final at Toronto for the first time since Feb. 27, 2005.
"We will definitely be ready," said Forbes.
The Gee-Gees broke through a tightly defended game that featured a swing of no more than four points for a six-point lead in the late stages of the fourth quarter.
"You prepare them for a game, but when it comes to getting on the court, that's their job," said Gee-Gees first-year head coach Andy Sparks. "I don't think they are afraid."
Ravens fourth-year guard Tanya Perry (Barrie, Ont.) was carried off the court with 6:37 remaining in the third quarter with an apparent left ankle injury. She did not return.
"When arguably our best player doesn't play you try to fill gaps," said Ravens head coach Taffe Charles. "It was hard to overcome."
The Gee-Gees, which won a dozen more regular season games this year after a 3-19 finish in 2007-08, held the lead just twice in the first half but kept the score close as Perry scored 12 points in 18 minutes – both game-highs at that point – for a 26-25 Ravens lead at the half.
A two-point lob inside by second-year post Hannah Sunley-Paisley (Toronto, Ont.) with time ticking gave the Gee-Gees a three-point lead (40-37) through three quarters.
"I wasn't ready for the season to end today," said Ottawa fourth-year guard Kyrie Love (Ottawa, Ont.), after an inspired eight points and four rebounds over 22 minutes. "I didn't want any coulda, wouldas."
Source: Gee-Gees Athletics
TORONTO 78, RYERSON 69
TORONTO, Ont. - The inside presence of Varsity Blues forwards Tara Kinnear and Nicki Schutz proved to be too much for the Ryerson Rams as the University of Toronto women's basketball team escaped with a 78-69 OUA quarter-final victory on Saturday at U of T's Sports Gym.
Kinnear (Kemptville, Ont.) and Schutz (Toronto, Ont.) each recorded a double-double in their first playoff game for the Varsity Blues. Kinnear led the way early in the contest, tallying 17 points and nine boards in the first 20 minutes of action.
Schutz, for her part, knocked down 14 of her 20 points, and eight of her 15 rebounds in the second half as Toronto battled back late in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
The Varsity Blues will now move on and host the Ottawa Gee-Gees in one of the OUA semi-final match-ups on Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.
Toronto got off to a great start offensively, breaking Ryerson's full-court press and finishing easy two-on-one situations at the other end. Defensively, the Blues were just as tough under the basket and on the boards, out-rebounding the Rams 28-13 in the first half and stealing the ball eight times to their two.
As a team, the Blues were 44 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the free-throw line and outscored their opponent 41-24 through two quarters. At the end of the game the Varsity Blues had out-rebounded the Rams 54-30.
The third quarter was a completely different story as the Rams continued to press and were able to create turnovers of their own, while knocking down key three-point baskets from to pull within six at the end of the frame.
Led by the team's leading scorer Lisa Goldring (Burlington, Ont.), the Rams shot the lights out in the third, going 9-of-17 (52 percent) from the field and 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) from three-point range.
Ryerson would continue to carry that momentum into the fourth quarter and would take the lead after Ashley MacDonald (Port Colbourne, Ont.) knocked down two huge baskets from beyond the arc that would give the Rams their first lead of the game at the 6:41 mark of the final frame.
Coming back in the game after a face-first fall to the floor, Schutz would lift her team with two key buckets and timely free throws to put Toronto back in front with less than three minutes to go in the game.
Ryerson misses and Toronto's made free throws would be the difference down the stretch as the Blues hung on to an exciting 78-69 quarter-final victory.
Kinnear led the way with her team-high 22 points and 17 rebounds, complimented nicely by Schutz' 20 and 15. Alaine Hutton (Hamilton, Ont.) added 12 points, six assists, four steals and one block.
Goldring had a game-high 23 points and four assists, while MacDonald and Kaitlyn Taylor (Sydney, N.S.) added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Lacey O'Sullivan (Port Colborne, Ont.) had a team-high six rebounds.
Source: Varsity Blues Athletics
