“We got things going, ball moved well, transition worked well.”
On Feb. 9, the Gee-Gees women’s basketball team welcomed the TMU Bold to Montpetit Hall. The Gees left their loss at Capital Hoops the weekend prior firmly in the rear-view mirror.
The team roared to an early 16-8 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Starters Ariane Saumure, Natsuki Szczokin, Allie McCarthy, and Emily Payne finished with double-digit points in the game, which finished 71-43 in favour of the Gees.
Freshman forward Victoria Brideau entered the game in the first quarter and immediately made an impact. The 6’3” Quebec City native posted up on the right hashes and drew a foul while making a layup.
The bench forward would drain the free throw and remain a large part of the Gees’ offence throughout the game. She saw 21 minutes of action and finished with nine points, a team-high 11 rebounds, and two blocks.
Joining Brideau with chunks of minutes off the bench were guards Nadine Katumbayi, Alana Renon, and Alissa Provo. Provo, a second-year from Lake Echo, N.S., finished with a made field goal on her only attempt, two assists, and a block.
On the opposing bench, five players combined for just four field goal attempts. Forward Corrynn Parker was responsible for the unit’s lone point, which was recorded on a free throw. The Bold, two years removed from an undefeated season and U SPORTS championship, were perhaps missing the guidance of head coach Carly Clarke. Clarke, who has coached the Bold since 2012, is away with the Canadian senior women’s national team at Olympic qualifiers in Hungary.
Postgame, Gees coach Rose-Anne Joly touched on the impact a strong bench unit can have, saying “I love our bench, in the sense that some of them can offer us more of a defensive presence, and some of them can have a more offensive presence, like Victoria.”
Joly also talked about the strong defence her guards display. “[Katumbayi] comes in and she can defend, so the best player on the other side never gets a break. She starts with [Saumure] on her, and then sometimes its [Szczokin], then sometimes its [Katumbayi], so it’s tough for them to get a rhythm going.”
First-year wing Allie McCarthy led the Gees in scoring, posting an efficient 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. She showcased an ability to score at all three levels, draining a three while also grabbing five rebounds, two steals, and dishing out two assists.
McCarthy was asked postgame about the difference in this game from last week. “We weren’t too happy with our offence last week. We kn[e]w that we need[ed] to pick it up at the end of the regular season here. We got things going, ball moved well, transition worked well.”
Saumure, a fourth-year guard, grabbed a game-high four steals. The Western transfer grabbed back-to-back steals at the beginning of the fourth quarter and laid them both in on breakaway layups.
Saumure’s backcourt partner Natsuki Szczokin drained four shots from beyond the arc; the fourth-year guard was the only player on the court to hit multiple threes during the game.
The Gees welcome the U of T Varsity Blues to Montpetit on Feb. 10, before finishing their season up the following weekend when they travel to Queen’s and Ontario Tech. Tickets for the U of T game are available here.
