Gee-Gees get win over Waterloo but drop matchup with Laurier
Photo credit: Remi Yuan
The women’s basketball team entered the Nov. 22–23 weekend games as the second highest-scoring team in the nation and, along with the men’s team leading the league, the Gee-Gees certainly earned their “U of Offence” moniker.
Nothing changed for the Gees in their match against the Waterloo Warriors as they were held in check early, only to explode in the final three quarters. The scoring was even amongst the Gees with the exception of fifth-year guard Stephanie MacDonald, who put up a team high 27 points that night.
Waterloo was swarmed by the Gee-Gees defence and couldn’t lock down their shooting on the other end of the floor as Ottawa improved to 4-1 with a 82-60 win.
Second-year guard Sarah Besselink was the Gees’ defensive leader, pulling down eight rebounds. In the second matchup of the weekend, the Gee-Gees took on the Laurier Golden Hawks, a team that was coming off a four-game win streak.
Despite an early Gees lead, the Hawks stayed close and were able to take the lead and not look back after the first quarter. As the game progressed, Ottawa’s play began to fall apart as they drew a slew of fouls and committed numerous turnovers.
Gee-Gees head coach Andy Sparks became frustrated after a call in the fourth quarter and picked up a technical foul in an argument with a referee.
The game would ultimately be decided in the later stages of the game as the Gees could not find their offence even as Laurier’s stalled. The game finished with a score of 69-59 for the Golden Hawks.
MacDonald was once again the leading scorer of the night as she tallied 16 points. Besselink, Krista Van Slingerland, and Jennifer Crowe would end up with nine points in the match as well.
The Gees still hold a two-game lead over the Carleton Ravens in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division, but they’ll have to pick their offensive game back up if they want to have success against tougher teams.
The squad will be back home to take on the number-eight Ryerson Rams, who have only lost by a narrow margin to the nation’s best, the Windsor Lancers. Tip-off at Montpetit will be at 6 p.m. on Nov. 28.
