Quest for the Critelli Cup continues Wednesday with opening round matchups

BURLINGTON, Ont. – Before the Critelli Cup playoffs start tomorrow night, here's a quick look at the women's basketball opening round matchups.  Fans can catch all the action streaming live throughout the postseason on OUA.tv. 

No. 12 York Lions (5-14) vs. No. 5 Ryerson Rams (13-6)

Looking to defend their first Critelli Cup title in program history, the reigning OUA champion Ryerson Rams will open the playoffs with a home game against the crosstown rival York Lions.

As a team, the Rams led OUA during the regular season, averaging 47.4 total rebounds per game, with a league high 32.1 of those boards coming defensively.  Ryerson turned in another strong season at both ends of the court as they ranked sixth in the conference in both points per game (68.1) and points per game allowed (57.8).  Possessing one of the best defensive lineups in the country, the Rams finished second in OUA with a 32.2 opponents' field goal percentage.

If the Lions are going to start thinking upset, they'll need to continue to play a disciplined game and avoid sending the Rams to the charity stripe.  York only committed 14.2 personal fouls per game during the regular season, which ranked them tied for second in the conference with McMaster.  With a raucous pro-Rams crowd expected Wednesday, things won't come easy for the visiting Lions.

Ryerson prevailed in both meetings this season with York, defeating the Lions 64-51 on Jan. 21 and 71-61 earlier this month at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

The winner of Wednesday's contest will head down the 401 on Saturday afternoon to take on the No. 4 seed Windsor Lancers.  Ryerson defeated the Lancers 59-55 at home on Dec. 3, while the Lions lost 80-46 on Jan. 6 at the St. Denis Centre in Windsor.   

Players to Watch

Ryerson – Kellie Ring: 19 GP, 14.6 PPG, 6.8 REB, 4.3 AST, 1.7 STL
York – Shauney Fischer:  17 GP, 10.7 PPG, 6.6 REB, 0.8 AST, 0.6 STL

No. 9 Lakehead Thunderwolves (8-11) vs. No. 8 Brock Badgers (8-11)

From one set of division rivals to another, it'll be an all OUA Central showdown at the Bob Davis Gymnasium Wednesday night as the Lakehead Thunderwolves face the Brock Badgers.

The Badgers had success from downtown this season, averaging 30.1 percent from beyond the arc which ranked them fourth.  Brock also did a good job protecting the glass at their end of the court and also finished fourth with 26.6 defensive rebounds per game.  If the Badgers are hoping to prove #WeAreReady, they'll have to make some improvements defensively, after allowing 69.7 points against per game this season, the most among any team in the Critelli Cup playoffs.

Coming off a year in which they scored 66.7 points per game, the Thunderwolves run and gun style offence is most effective when they're successfully moving the ball.  Lakehead ranked second in OUA with 16.4 assists per game this season and finished in the top five in both field goal attempts (69.9) and three-point attempts (20.1) per game.  Not only can the 'Wolves shoot the three, but they can also defend against it as they're opponents' three point percentage (24.4) ranked second in the league.

The teams split their two-regular season meetings this year with Brock picking up a 92-84 win on Jan. 13 before the Thunderwolves shocked the Badgers in dominant fashion the following night, 71-47.

Things won't get any easier for either team as the winner will advance to the quarterfinal round where they'll go up against the No. 1 seeded Queen's Gaels in Kingston.  Queen's defeated both teams in the regular season; however, the margin of victory in both games was only seven points.

Players to Watch

Brock – Bridget Atkinson: 19 GP, 14.4 PPG, 5.8 REB, 3.3 AST, 1.5 STL
Lakehead – Bridget O'Reilly: 18 GP, 11.2 PPG, 5.8 REB, 1.4 AST, 2.7 STL

No. 10 University of Toronto Varsity Blues (7-12) vs. No. 7 Laurier (13-7)

With a spot in the Critelli Cup quarter-finals on the line, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues will head to Waterloo, Ont. Wednesday to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks.

As one of the top offences in the province this season, the Golden Hawks averaged 68.8 points per game during the regular season, the fourth highest mark in OUA.  Laurier loves to shoot the three and who can blame them as they made almost 30 percent of their attempts this year.  However, it might not be their offence that has the high flying Hawks soaring into the postseason as the No. 7 seed but more so their ability to ground the opposition.  Laurier finished the year in the top five in several defensive categories, including: block per game (4.3) and opponents' field goal percentage (34.3).

If the Varsity Blues have any hope of clipping the Golden Hawks wings Wednesday, they'll need to play a disciplined game and avoid sending Laurier to line.  Toronto averaged 17.9 personal fouls per game during the regular season, the most amongst any team in the league.  Look for the Blues to try and control the offensive glass Wednesday as a way of creating second-chance opportunities.  Toronto averaged 15.5 offensive rebounds per game during the regular season, trailing only the previously mentioned top seeded Gaels.

Despite leading by as many as 11 points, Toronto lost to Laurier 74-67 in their only meeting of the regular season back on Jan. 21.

The winner will head out on the road to the nation's capital on Saturday where they'll take on the No. 2 seed Carleton Ravens.  After dropping their opener, Carleton has rattled off 18 consecutive wins, including victories against both Laurier (71-60) and Toronto (66-52).

Players to Watch

Laurier – Kaitlyn Schenck: 20 GP, 15.4 PPG, 3.6 REB, 2.9 AST, 2.3 STL
Toronto – Rashida Atkinson:  19GP, 12.7 PPG, 3.8 REB, 0.9 AST, 1.3 STL

No. 11 Western Mustangs (8-12) vs. No. 6 uOttawa Gee-Gees (13-6)

There will be no horsing around Wednesday when the Western Mustangs stampede into Montpetit Hall looking to upset Critelli Cup runners-up from a season ago, the uOttawa Gee-Gees.

One of the best defensive teams in OUA, the stingy Gee-Gees allowed just 54.2 points per game this season, trailing only the archrival Ravens for top spot in the conference.  Despite averaging a league low 11.3 free throw attempts per game, uOttawa had the fourth best free throw percentage (69.8).  However, the Gee-Gees are coming up against a disciplined Mustangs squad that committed the fewest personal fouls per game (13.3) this season.   

Just one season removed from a 14-6 record and a second place finish in the West, the Mustangs will put a difficult regular season behind them as they look to upset the Gee-Gees in their barn.  Western likely needs to be more aggressive and shoot the ball if they hope to keep pace with uOttawa on Wednesday.  While they ranked fourth in field goal percentage, trailing only three of the top four Critelli Cup seeds, the Mustangs finished last amongst playoff bound teams with just 56.7 attempts per game.

Meeting for the first and only time of the regular season late last month, the Gee-Gees narrowly defeated the Mustangs by just three points, 53-50.

With a win Wednesday, either the Gee-Gees or Mustangs will make the trip to the "Steel City" Saturday for a showdown with the No. 3 seed McMaster Marauders.  McMaster overpowered both teams in their previous meetings earlier this season.

Players to Watch

Ottawa – Sarah Besselink: 19 GP, 13.8 PPG, 6.2 REB, 1.3 AST, 1.1 STL
Western – Mackenzie Puklicz:  20 GP, 15.3 PPG, 6.0 REB, 1.8 AST, 2.8 STL