Women’s Basketball: Gees rock the Voyageurs with last quarter effort to take the victory
The Gee-Gees faced off against the fourth-seeded Laurentian Voyageurs at Montpetit Hall Jan. 12. The Gees are currently 10th in the national rankings and were looking to climb the ladder before the Colonel-By Classic. Despite a close match, the Gees were able to walk off with a win with an incredible effort in the fourth quarter.
The first quarter started with the Gees putting up some lockdown defense, followed by a contested layup by forward Emily Payne. This was her game to shine, as she had 16 points as well as five assists, two assists, one steal, and one block.
The Gees were putting pressure on the Voyageurs to establish a strong start as they were hustling for rebounds, causing turnovers when they passed, and laying some huge blocks. The offence was also doing well in the quarter and created good shot opportunities, like when point guard Natsuki Szczokin threw it to guard Ariane Saumure for a huge three-pointer from the top of the key.
The three-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian Szczokin had a phenomenal performance to lead the team as she put up 18 points, five assists, two rebounds, two steals and one block. Saumure was a thief on the court, putting up four steals along with her 14 points and six rebounds.
The Gees were beating the Voyageurs in three-point shooting and were efficient in driving the lane, but the Voyageurs were creating a stronger paint presence. They kept it within a point or two with close shots and layups, as well as creating some crucial turnovers to keep back in the Gees’ end. Alana Renon hit a beautiful wing-side jumper to get the three and then Alissa Provo drove the lane for a big layup to make the score 15-12 at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter started with Saumure hitting free throws after effectively drawing fouls on her defender. Payne would then hit a big jumper at the top of the key to gain a lead of four points at 21-17.
The Gees’ defense would start to struggle as they were leaving players open at the line, which led to big three-pointers for the Voyageurs and also committing too many fouls to give away free points.
The Gees were now struggling to establish themselves on any part of the floor and as a result, they gave up the lead as the Voyageurs pulled ahead and hit a three-pointer from the logo. The effort by the end of the second quarter was very lackluster as they would go into the second half at a three-point deficit to the Voyageurs.
The third quarter started with forward Melina De Lulio getting an extra point after getting fouled on her layup. The Gees were doing better at drawing fouls to create and capitalize on more free throws. Ottawa was able to regain the lead from the Voyageurs as their shot selection got a lot better since the second quarter, as Payne had a laser shot from mid-range that the defense could not stop.
“Yeah, we kind of knew that they really like to sink it towards the key,” Payne explained about her shot selection in the mid-range. “and that the key was going to be open. I like to shoot from there anyway, so it worked out pretty good, I guess.” Payne was also playing tough perimeter defense as she layed big blocks on opposing shooters to create more transition chances.
Saumure was able to get a fastbreak opportunity off of a steal from wing Allie McCarthy that she capitalized on with a layup and an extra point from drawing a foul. The Gees would occasionally have issues defending three-point shooters and causing fouls as the Voyageurs kept the game close, but the Gees still wanted to put up a fight.
The fourth quarter started with better three-point defense from the Gees as the Voyageurs’ top shooters could not hit a single three-pointer to start off. The Gees’ perimeter defense was all over the Voyageurs and even when it got too aggressive, it still paid off as the Voyageurs hit a single free throw when fouled in the first three minutes.
“I think we had to remind them that ball pressure is our priority on the defensive side and ball pressure was not what we wanted in the first half,” coach Rose-Anne Joly said about the defensive effort improving.
“We allowed Emilie Lafond to get the ball, we allowed the wing to get the ball, which was part of our scouting report, and we didn’t want the wings to be getting the ball. So we adjusted our effort that way.” The Gees were also able to shut the paint down, as the Voyageurs struggled to score from close as well.
The Gees, however, would also struggle to score in the offensive zone with not a single basket scored from each team until 6:19 left in the quarter until De Lulio hit a free throw from drawing a foul. The game was kept within a single point until the Gees took over starting with Szczokin hitting a clutch three-pointer from the wing and driving to the net for a layup on their next attempt.
The Gees were responding to the Voyageurs in a big way as Szczokin fed the ball to De Lulio for another three-pointer. Szczokin took over with three three-point shots and a free point to increase the lead by 15 to make the score 68-53.
Payne would foul a Voyageur on the head, but luckily the player was okay in the end and was able to head off the court. Payne would then set up one of Szczokin’s three-pointers as the team created an electrifying ending to this game. The game ended on a three-pointer scored by guard Nadine Katumbayi set up by The Gees to end the victory at 71-56.
The Gees look to take on Algoma at an away game next Friday, check out oua.tv to see the match.
