Men’s and women’s teams rebound after crushing losses to Carleton
Men
On Jan. 17, the University of Ottawa men’s basketball team suffered a mortifying 80–41 defeat at the hands of the Carleton Ravens.
Shooting only 21.4 per cent on the game and committing 18 turnovers were concerning signs for a Gees team who is going to face off against their crosstown rivals at Capital Hoops in early February.
But the Gees didn’t have too long to dwell on that game, as they were back in action three days later on Friday, Jan. 20 to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
Brody Maracle lead the way offensively for the Gees with a season-high 18 points. The Gees were lead on the defensive end by Brandon Robinson, who had a season-high nine defensive rebounds.
All in all the Gees redeemed themselves with a dominant performance on Jan, 20, downing the Thunderwolves 89–60.
The Gees managed to carry this momentum into Saturday’s game against the Guelph Gryphons. This time it was stars Caleb Agada and Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles who led the way for the Gees, as they carried their team to an 85–68 victory.
Women
In comparison to their male counterparts, the University of Ottawa women’s basketball team suffered a much less embarrassing loss to Carleton on Jan. 16 at Montpetit Hall.
The Gees gave the Ravens a run for their money, but ultimately fell 57–50 in a close affair.
Fourth-year guard Sarah Besselink finished the game with 19 points and five rebounds. The rest of the Gees struggled to generate offense, with no other player reaching double digits in the contest.
Former Gee-Gee Catherine Traer dropped 20 points for the Ravens, eventually leading her team to victory.
“Unfortunately Catherine Traer beat us tonight, it’s a little bit tough to go through that,” said head coach Andy Sparks after the game. “We had a good tough Carleton game there and hopefully we can build and learn from that.”
However, the Gees later put up a solid performance against Lakehead on Jan. 20, defeating the Thunderwolves 69–45.
On Saturday the Gees took on the Guelph Gryphons, where reserves Jennifer Crowe and Melina Wishart lead the way for the Gees with 18 and 16 points, respectively. The Gees won by a final score of 71–60.
Both teams have one more weekend before their much-anticipated Capital Hoops matchup, and a chance to avenge their losses to Carleton.
Both teams return to action on Jan. 27 at Western University. Tickets for Capital Hoops on Feb. 3 can be purchased via Ticketmaster.
