Men’s basketball ranked second in the nation
The Gee-Gees remain undefeated and seem likely to maintain their number two ranking following their two games on the Nov. 22–23 weekend beating Waterloo 98–60 on Friday and Laurier 89–68 on Saturday night.
Waterloo was outscored in all four quarters as third-year U of O communications student Mike L’Africain scored a career-high 23 points. Saturday’s game was like a sloppy joe: the Gee-Gees’ performance was messy, but their victory was absolutely delicious. The score did not reflect the way the game was played.
After the victory, head coach James Derouin said he thought the team was fatigued that night.
“We were a tired team, but we gutted it out. We weren’t our usual sharp self today. I could feel it in the second half just like I could feel it in the warm up. They played harder than us in the second half, that’s for sure,” he said.
Fourth-year economics student Johnny Berhanemeskel didn’t think the Gees played like they should have.
“We did not play up to our expectations. We’ll learn from this game 100 per cent and try not to be exploited by better teams,” he said.
The garnet and grey still have their toughest game ahead of them. They’ll travel across the canal to take on the number one ranked Ravens on Nov. 29. Although the matchup may determine which is the better of the two teams in the nation’s capital, it is sure to add another exciting chapter to the U of O-Carleton rivalry.
Women’s basketball loses to undefeated Golden Hawks
The Gee-Gees women’s basketball team took on the Waterloo Warriors and the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks on the Nov. 22–23 weekend at Montpetit Hall.
The first game wasn’t the best quality of basketball, but gave plenty of opportunities for all players to light up the court and play hard. Fourth-year education student Stephanie MacDonald started the game by scoring seven of the Gee-Gees’ first 13 points. She finished with a game-high of 26 points, four rebounds, and three assists. The Gee-Gees dominated on the boards, as they collected 45 rebounds in total compared to the Warriors’ 29. The game finished with a final score of 80–48.
The women didn’t have the same success against the Laurier Golden Hawks Saturday night, losing 67–74. The garnet and grey couldn’t pull out a win against the 6–0 Golden Hawks as they trailed each quarter and finished the game with only a 12 per cent success rate from the three-point line. MacDonald said the biggest thing that affected the team was their defence and shooting.
“We couldn’t get stops. Every time they came down the floor they seemed to get the shot they wanted,” said MacDonald. “We got away from our team defence. We weren’t helping each other out and we were just focused on our own check. Our shots weren’t coming off our offence, they were just coming off the dribble. We were forcing it and they weren’t going in.”
Additionally, third-year human kinetics student Maddie Stephen pointed out that the Gee-Gees were slow to realize what worked well for the team.
“I think it took us too long to recognize that going into the post, kicking it back out and playing through our post was working well,” said Stephen. “I think if we recognized that earlier we would have had more success and ball movement. We just didn’t have enough accountability on each other.”
Next, the Gee-Gees take on cross-town rivals the Carleton Ravens on Nov. 29.
