SZCZOKIN NOTCHES SIX STEALS FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT GAME; CLAIMS GEE-GEES SINGLE SEASON RECORD
It wasn’t pretty at times. Overtime wins rarely are — especially so when it’s against a Laurentian team that came to your home court sporting a 4-12 record. But Rose-Anne Joly’s Gee-Gees came through when it mattered most.
With six seconds remaining, the Voyageurs had gained a late two-point lead, thanks mostly to 6’3” centre Emilie Lafond, who proved too much for the Gee-Gees interior defence to handle all night. Lafond racked up 29 points Saturday on 10-of-17 shooting, including 9-of-11 shooting from the charity stripe.
The Gee-Gees had battled to even get to that point. Though Szczokin pushed the Gees game-long lead to five points with her fourth three of the game with just under four minutes remaining, that lead would quickly disappear as the last few minutes ticked away.
A late steal by centre Emily Payne and a huge block from wing Bailey Russell helped flipped the script and set the Gee-Gees up for their final possession. With just those six seconds on the clock, Szczokin took the inbound from under the Gees’ basket, flew all the way into the Voyageur’s paint, and dropped a dime to Payne who slipped in a layup as the buzzer sounded.
In the overtime period, it was all Gee-Gees, as they reclaimed a lead thanks to makes by Szczokin and sophomore forward Victoria Brideau that they would ultimately never relinquish, coming away with a 73-70 victory in their first overtime game all season.
“Today was end-of-game experience when it’s close, and I think we handled it the right way,” said Gee-Gees head coach Joly after the game. “I don’t think we panicked, I think it was good experience for us, and it’s going to be in our back pocket … for playoffs it’s going to be good for us. I’m so happy with how we handled things.”
Payne, who has had an up-and-down season offensively, finished 2-of-16 from the floor — but was calm and collected sending home the game-tying bucket. “We know that she’s very strong and she could be one of the best centres in the OUA and all of U SPORTS,” said Joly.
“So we’re putting a lot of pressure [on her] but at the end of the day … we have to play through the whistle, and it’s the next shot [that counts] … she misses because she’s [2-of-11] and it’s a different story, right?”
Challenging Payne in the paint all game long was Lafond, who finished the game ranked third in the OUA in points per game (18.8). “[Lafond], she’s a stud,” said Joly. “She’s so good, she’s so locked in, she’s in shape,” noting the centre’s 37 minutes played. “She’s a force, I’m happy to play against her, we don’t have that many in the country like her.”
The Gee-Gees welcome #12 Queen’s to Montpetit at 6 p.m. next Friday, before taking on bottom-of-the-conference Ontario Tech the following afternoon at 3 p.m.
Szczokin’s Big Weekend Continues
A night after recording a career-high 30 points while being recognized for reaching 1000 on her career, fifth-year Szczokin nabbed six steals for the fourth game in a row, pushing herself past former backcourt partner Ariane Saumure for the Gee-Gees all-time single season steals record — with five games still to play this season.
Szczokin picked up her first steal — like the night before — in the very first minute of the game. She leads the entire country — men’s and women’s — in steals and steals per game this season, and sits inside the top-10 in steals per game in a single season alongside Saumure.
The Barrie native finished with 24 points on 7-of-16 shooting, adding four rebounds and four assists. The 5’6” point guard is doing it all for the Gees this year, ranking 11th in the country in points per game (16.9) and second in assists per game (4.9).
Game Notes
The game started 50 minutes late due to the referees being delayed.
55 turnovers were committed in the game (33 by Laurentian and 22 by Ottawa), the most combined turnovers in a Gee-Gees regular season game this season.
51 fouls were called in the game (29 on Ottawa and 22 on Laurentian,) both the most taken by the Gee-Gees and the most combined in a Gee-Gees regular season game this season.
The Gee-Gees improve to 8-0 on home court this season.
