“It still took a little while to adjust and we only finally took control by the end of the third quarter”
It looked unlikely at points during the OUA women’s basketball quarterfinal in Waterloo. The Gees trailed by as much as 11, Waterloo fifth-year forward Summer Pahl was on a heater, and the Warriors drained 44.4 per cent of their three point attempts. But the Gee-Gees are moving on to the semi-finals after a 74-65 win.
The Gees were coming off an easy win against Laurentian in the play-in game, which finished with a final score of 79-49. Meanwhile, the Warriors had earned themselves a bye after finishing first in the OUA West. The two teams had met once this season, one month prior to the quarterfinal. The Warriors had taken that game 60-52, so it figured to be another close matchup.
And it was. In part thanks to 15 free throws — 14 of which they sunk — the Warriors were leading 33-28 at halftime. Fifth-year Summer Pahl was leading the charge for Waterloo, and had made all five of her field goals, including three three-pointers.
Waterloo was full-court pressing the Gee-Gees — just like in their first meeting — and head coach Rose-Anne Joly explained postgame how that affected the team’s offence. “We prepared this time to be more aggressive against it, but it still took a little while to adjust and we only finally took control by the end of the third quarter.”
Midway through the third quarter, Pahl stretched the lead to 11 with her fifth three of the game. But fourth-year Gees guard Natsuki Szczokin responded. The 2022-23 OUA Third Team All-Star first drained a three from the left break, then pulled up and hit a mid-range jumper on a fast break, before finally shrugging off multiple defenders to lay it in.
At this point, the game-plan was something along the lines of ‘give Natsuki the ball’. The Barrie native drove from the top of the arc to the rim, drawing a foul along the way. She would make one free throw, and her eight-point personal run had moved the Gees within three of the Warriors.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Szczokin would again drive to the rim, this time making the bucket and drawing a foul. She would miss the free throw, but an ensuing Allie McCarthy three would regain the lead for the Gee-Gees.
Szczokin would tie with Pahl for a game-high 21 points, and the fourth-year Gee would add four rebounds. Pahl needed just nine shots, but Szczokin was still efficient, hitting on eight of her 16 field goal attempts. McCarthy would finish with 15 points and six rebounds on 5-of-7 field goal shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep.
Joly said postgame that the game changed when her team began attacking the rim in the second half. “Waterloo is tall and our guards were having trouble in the first half at finding the rim. [Szczokin] took over in the third with a few attacks and went to the free throw line.”
The Warriors would remain close with the Gees, but forward Emily Payne knocked down a couple of shots, and the other half of the Gees two-headed backcourt monster — fourth-year guard Ariane Saumure — made the lead 64-58 with a three-pointer.
The Gee-Gees will play the U SPORTS #1 Carleton Ravens on Feb. 28 in yet another crosstown rivalry matchup for the right to play for the OUA’s Critelli Cup. The Gee-Gees handed the Ravens their first loss of the season back in December, but the Ravens evened up their season series with a win at Capital Hoops in early February.
Joly described the matchup as “a rivalry that will never get boring.” When asked what the team’s mindset is going into the game, she said that “It will be a battle from the start until the very last second.” Tickets for the game, which will tip-off at 6 p.m., are available here.
