Lefebvre-Okankwu starts the second half of the season with two big performances
After topping the Laurentian Voyageurs 97-72 on Friday, the University of Ottawa women’s basketball team was back on the court Saturday night to take on the Nipissing Lakers.
The two-game weekend on the road marked the first time the Gee-Gees were in action since the winter break.
Brigette Lefebvre-Okankwu put the Gee-Gees on the board with a nice jump shot.
In the first few minutes of the first quarter, the U of O was able to capitalize on foul shots, putting them up 5-0 before the Lakers were able to find the basket.
The Gee-Gees continued to up the score, but three-pointers kept Nipissing close behind.
To end the first quarter, the Gee-Gees led 18-11.
Again, Lefebvre-Okankwu showed dominance on offence, grabbing an offensive rebound and sneaking it in to make it 22-13 early in the second quarter.
Brooklynn McAlear-Fanus worked the point, finding Alana Renon for a three-pointer to give the Gees a double-digit lead at 25-15.
The Lakers did not quit, and both teams put up 21 points in the second quarter to make the score 39-32 at the half.
In the third, both teams came out hot, pushing the score to 49-41 before the game slowed down. The rest of the quarter was slow on both ends of the court. Both teams struggled to get much going and weren’t able to find the net until Natalie Martinez fired in a three-pointer for the Lakers.
The Gee-Gees managed to outscore the Lakers in the quarter, leading 57-44 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
Martinez made some shots to keep Nipissing in the game, but the Gee-Gees continued to prove that they were the dominant team.
With only two minutes left, the Gee-Gees led by 13. The U of O took their time with the ball in the final minutes, taking the game 74-69.
Lefebvre-Okankwu led in scoring with 28 points, while Angela Ribarich put up 14 points, and McAlear-Fanus added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
After the weekend, the Gee-Gees have improved their record to 11-2 to remain at the top of the OUA East. On Jan. 17 and 18, the Gee-Gees are back at home at Montpetit Hall to take on Queen’s University and Ontario Tech University, with both games starting at 6.p.m
Women’s basketball team by the numbers
Dominant offence: The Gee-Gees score an OUA best average of 79.1 points per game
Defence is the name of the game: Ottawa gives up 57.2 points on average every game, which places them fourth in the OUA
Three in ten: The Gees hit the basket on 30.3 per cent of their three-point attempts, good for sixth in the OUA
