Gees avoid late UBC comeback, take home first medal in six years
The Gee-Gees women’s basketball team would play for bronze less than 24 hours after a blowout loss to the Carleton Ravens during the teams’ fourth matchup of the season. The Gees team that we saw bowing out on Saturday, however, was not the same team that came storming out of the gate Sunday.
The Gees jumped out to an early lead with threes from First Team All-Canadian Natsuki Szczokin and Third Team OUA All-Star Allie McCarthy; meanwhile, on defence, Szczokin had already grabbed three steals in the first three minutes of the game.
That lead would stick until UBC closed the gap early in the third quarter, spurred by an offensive rebound and back-to-back steals from Cerys Murton. Keira Daly would bring the Thunderbirds within one with a three from the top and then gain their first lead of the game at the start of the fourth.
Dailey would drain another three from the top with three-and-a-half to play in the game, giving the Thunderbirds a 58-56 lead. But a tough acrobatic layup and pullup from Szczokin in the final minutes sealed the game for the Gees, along with a UBC travel down five with 21 seconds.
From there, UBC failed to foul until there was only eight seconds left on the clock, giftwrapping the Gee-Gees their third medal (all bronzes) in program history.
“It’s definitely not the medal that we wanted, but we wanted to at least leave [British Columbia] with something around our neck, and at least we were able to accomplish that,” head coach Rose-Anne Joly said after the game, adding how proud she was of the team. It was every player on the roster’s first trip to nationals.
“We came in here wanting to just work hard and try our best, and that’s what we did,” said Szczokin after the game. “We came out with a medal; that’s exactly what we wanted to do and it feels amazing.”
Szczokin enjoyed a fantastic conclusion to a university career that is almost certain to be continued in a professional league, finishing the game with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, eight steals, eight assists, and six rebounds.
But right there alongside her, just like the other games this season when the Gee-Gees have been at their best, were McCarthy, who finished with a game-high 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and Gees centre Emily Payne, who finished with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
The game may have been the last organized one that Payne and Szczokin have played together, but it was far from the first. The two grew up playing basketball together in Barrie and at Southwestern Academy and continued for four seasons in garnet and grey.
“We always look back at pictures of us when we were younger together so it’s nice to add this to the scrapbook,” said a laughing Szczokin after the game. “And be able to see us grow as players and as people too, it’s amazing to do that with someone throughout the years here, it feels great.”
Payne finished the tournament averaging 12.3 points and five rebounds per game, including a 21 point performance in the quarterfinal against Laval.
McCarthy, a 6’0” guard, finished the tournament averaging 15.7 points and five rebounds per game while making eight of her 17 threes attempted, good for a 47.1 clip.
McCarthy and Bailey Russell (5-of-9 from three) were key factors to why the Gees led the tournament by more than 10 percentage points in the stat, finishing with a team rate of 43.4 per cent.
“We’ve been working really hard all year, getting extra shots up, visualizing and doing extra work when we can,” said McCarthy about the team’s success from behind the arc.
“I’m happy it paid off when we needed it. We also did a good job of getting each other good shots, whether it was in transition, a kick out, or an extra pass, we really wanted the best shots for our team … we are at our best when the ball moves.”
Joly noted that three players are waiting to hear back from Master’s programs about returning to the program next year, but fourth-year McCarthy confirmed that she would be back.
McCarthy enjoyed a career season this year, culminating in an OUA Third Team All-Star nod in her second with the Gees. The Fredericton, N.B. native spent two years at North Dakota in the NCAA’s Division I before joining the Gees last season. She will presumably take on a much larger role in the team’s offence next season.
McCarthy noted that she was looking for a positive, winning culture when choosing a school, and that while her other choices may have worked out too, a Critelli Cup win and national bronze “really cements the fact that I made the right decision coming here.”
McCarthy added that the win is a testament to players both former and current.
“I think everyone who has been here the past years would agree that this has been building for a while. We showed everyone that the Gee-Gees program is one of the best in the country. This season was great not only for us but for past players and definitely for future Gee-Gees as well.”
“Now it sets the tone, now we’ve lived the experience and I’m sure it’s going to be something we want to do year after year,” said Joly.
