Breaking down Ottawa’s win over Queen’s Friday night… [Michael Grobe, gogaelsgo.com]
The score: Ottawa 71, Queen’s 50
How I saw it: In person
The Good:
-Alaina Porter: Porter was Queen’s best player on the night. She went four for eight from the field and seven for 11 from the charity stripe for a 15-point total while adding eight rebounds, four of them offensive. She played well in the post against taller defenders and was consistent all night, a main reason why she recorded a game-high 32 minutes of court time.
-Erin Skippon: Skippon also had a decent game for the Gaels, making three of her seven shots from the field and four of her six chances from the line for 10 points. She also added three rebounds.
-Jill Wheat: Wheat didn’t provide much offence, only notching three points on free throws, but she collected a game-high 10 rebounds, four of them on the offensive glass. She also only picked up two fouls in 26 minutes of court time, quite good for a post player.
-The free-throw battle: Queen’s outperformed Ottawa from the line, notching 25 of their 34 shots for a 73.5 shooting percentage. The Gee-Gees hit 11 of their 18 foul shots for a 61.1 percentage.
The Bad:
-Courtney Berquist: Berquist lit the Gaels up for 15 points and six rebounds in only 28 minutes of court time. She was the most impressive player on the Gee-Gess, shooting six for nine from the field and making both of her three-point attempts.
-Kendra Walker-Roche: Walker-Roche only hit one of her 10 shots from the field and went zero-for-four from deep. She also committed three turnovers in only 16 minutes of play.
-Anne Murphy: Murphy’s normally the team’s key post presence, but she didn’t have a good game. She went one-for-five from the field, but hit all four of her foul shots, giving her six points in 16 minutes of play. She also only collected two rebounds, well below her usual standard.
The Ugly:
-The Gaels’ shooting percentage: Queen’s only made 12 of their 48 field-goal attempts on the day, an abysmal 25 per cent success rate. That’s one of the worst showings I’ve ever seen. Some of it was due to poor shot selection, much of which came from the Gaels’ inability to get anything going on offence. Most of their offensive plays consisted of passing the ball around the perimeter for most of the shot clock and then frantically launching a contested long bomb as the clock ticked down, not the best strategy if you’re trying to win.
-The Gaels’ three-point percentage: Those long bombs made things even worse. The Gaels only hit one of their ten three-point attempts all game for an atrocious 10 per cent success rate. Normally this team’s pretty good from outside, but Ottawa did an excellent job of shutting down the interior passing lanes and then jumping out to challenge Queen’s shooters: there weren’t a lot of open looks, and the ones the Gaels did get didn’t go in.
-Brittany Moore’s play: The Gaels’ offence lives and dies with Brittany Moore these days thanks to the departure of former scoring threats Sarah Barnes and Teddi Firmi and the season-ending injury to Jess Selinger. Friday, it died with her. Moore was the OUA-leading scorer heading into Friday night, and the Gee-Gees apparently did their research: they never let her get a really good look, and she wound up going one-for-seven from the floor (including a zero-for-three performance from deep). Moore did hit all of her three free throws and added two rebounds, but she also racked up four fouls and three turnovers en route to a season-low five-point performance. They’ll need more out of her if they hope to win against Carleton.
I'll have a story on this game and tonight's match against the Carleton Ravens in Tuesday's Journal.
Showing posts with label Anne Murphy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anne Murphy. Show all posts
Friday, January 23, 2009
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Campus Corner: Saturday night's all right for b-ball
The 8-11 women's team, fresh off an upset of the 13-6 Laurentian Voyageurs, almost made it two in a row against the OUA East-leading York Lions (16-3 heading in to tonight's game), but came up just short, losing 71-66 in overtime. Queen's trailed 29-21 at the half, but outscored York 22-14 in the third and held them even in the fourth to force the extra frame.
It really didn't need to go that far, though. With less than a minute to go and the score knotted at 60, Queen's star forward Sarah Barnes hauled down a defensive rebound and started a fast break, but point guard Teddi Firmi missed a tightly contested layup that could have given the Gaels the lead. On the ensuing Lions drive, Queen's forward Anne Murphy fouled York's Emily Van Hoof, who led York with 21points on the night. Van Hoof went to the line, but missed both shots, perhaps thrown off by the noise from the stands. They were the only foul shots she missed all night in a 9-for-11 effort from the line. Queen's then took the ball with 18.9 seconds left and drove down the court, but couldn't crack York's defense for a
game-winning basket. Barnes eventually launched a three, but it fell short and the teams headed to overtime.
In overtime, Queen's had plenty of chances. Barnes was outstanding early, making a steal and hitting a layup. She then sunk two free throws after being fouled on the Gaels' next possession, part of her 22 points on the night. Queen's hung with York for a while, but conceded too many free throws, and York went an astonishing 11 for 12 from the line in extra time to clinch the victory.
Barnes, who was playing her final regular-season home game for the Gaels, and head coach Dave Wilson both said they were disappointed not to get the win, but took some comfort from sticking with a top team like the Lions for so long. Looking at their performances this weekend, it's tough not to agree: they've shown they can play with the best in the league. However, the issue now is finding consistency: this is, after all, the team that lost to the 2-18 Ottawa Gee-Gees only last Tuesday. Interestingly enough, the Gaels play Ottawa and 6-14 Carleton again on the road next weekend. A pair of wins would give them some solid momentum heading into the playoffs, especially as there's a good chance they'll face the Ravens in the first round. Wilson, Barnes and Anne Murphy all mentioned that they'd like to avenge Tuesday's defeat to Ottawa, so the Gaels seem to have some extra motivation for that clash on Friday.
One final note from this game: Firmi again had a solid game with five assists, five points and eight rebounds, third-best in the game (behind only Van Hoof's 13 boards and Barnes' nine). However, she fouled out for the third game in a row. Granted, this time it wasn't until overtime, but I'm sure Wilson will be bugging her about that: the Gaels are a better team with her on the floor, so it's important for her to be more careful about fouls.
The men's game was pretty much as expected, as Queen's beat 5-13 York 74-67 to improve their own conference play record to 12-7. As I predicted yesterday, it was closer than the team's records would suggest. This time, however, the prediction worked out but the reasoning didn't. By all logic, Queen's should have run away with this game: they thoroughly outplayed York for most of the game, and they were getting ridiculously good looks at three-point shots, which normally spells disaster for the opposition. This time, though, Queen's couldn't hit a three for love or money in the first half: they were a lousy 3of 17 (18%) from deep in the first two quarters, and were even outscored 16-9 in the second frame, which meant that they held a slender 27-25 lead at the half.
The Gaels turned it around in the second though, and their shots started falling. The outcome was never really in question after Queen's went on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter. Their field goal percentage jumped from 30% to 57%, and they hit eight out of 16 threes for an astonishingly high 50% success rate. They outscored York 21-14 in the third, and only lost the fourth quarter by two points (28-26) despite some horrible turnovers and fouls near the end.
As expected, star forward Mitch Leger led the Gaels with 18 points, but it wasn't one of his greatest nights: he went six for 20 from the field, and hit just one of nine from downtown. He did add seven rebounds, though, which tied him for the team lead with rookie Nick DiDonato. The Mitchell brothers both had solid games: Travis put up 14 points and added five rebounds and three steals, while Simon recorded eight points, four rebounds and three assists. Rookie forward Jon Ogden also played well, notching 14 points and adding five rebounds. Guard Tut Rauch was the story for the Lions, as he recorded 29 points, almost half of their total offensive output. The Lions also went 21-24 from the foul line, which helped them keep it close.
Interestingly enough, Smart, Ogden and Simon Mitchell all agreed that nothing really changed from the first to the second half. They were getting similar looks, but the shots they missed in the first just started to drop in after the break. What I found particularly interesting was the difference in Smart's reactions after tonight's game and last night's thumping of Laurentian. Last night, they had a much bigger halftime lead (40-27 as opposed to 27-25), but Smart was really unhappy with their play in the first half. Tonight, with only a two-point margin, he wasn't all that disappointed in the team's early play: he recognized that they were playing well, but the shots just weren't falling. That's good coaching, if you ask me: knowing when to fume and knowing when your guys are already doing well, but it just isn't working. There's more to sports than the scoreline, as the piece I wrote for my Journal blog on today's Tottenham-Manchester United clash shows.
Next weekend, the Gaels face Ottawa and Carleton in a pair of tough matches. 15-4 Ottawa may be vulnerable, though: they dropped a 78-69 decision to Toronto tonight, and lost star guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe in the process. Sean Peter also didn't dress for the Gee-Gees, and it will be good news for the Gaels if one or both of them can't play Friday night: the duo combined for 31 points in Ottawa's close win over Queen's Tuesday night. Carleton looked invincible as always with a 100-77 win over Ryerson, but as I'm hoping is the case tomorrow, it's not always possible to maintain perfection. Simon Mitchell said the Gaels want to come out of next weekend with at least one win: that would certainly be an impressive outcome, regardless of which side they beat.
Related:
- Mark Wacyk's piece at cishoops.ca on the men's game.
- I'll have full stories on both games in Tuesday's Journal.
- Met up with Brock Harrison from the Kingston Whig-Standard at tonight's games: he should have pieces on both in Monday's paper.
It really didn't need to go that far, though. With less than a minute to go and the score knotted at 60, Queen's star forward Sarah Barnes hauled down a defensive rebound and started a fast break, but point guard Teddi Firmi missed a tightly contested layup that could have given the Gaels the lead. On the ensuing Lions drive, Queen's forward Anne Murphy fouled York's Emily Van Hoof, who led York with 21points on the night. Van Hoof went to the line, but missed both shots, perhaps thrown off by the noise from the stands. They were the only foul shots she missed all night in a 9-for-11 effort from the line. Queen's then took the ball with 18.9 seconds left and drove down the court, but couldn't crack York's defense for a
game-winning basket. Barnes eventually launched a three, but it fell short and the teams headed to overtime.
In overtime, Queen's had plenty of chances. Barnes was outstanding early, making a steal and hitting a layup. She then sunk two free throws after being fouled on the Gaels' next possession, part of her 22 points on the night. Queen's hung with York for a while, but conceded too many free throws, and York went an astonishing 11 for 12 from the line in extra time to clinch the victory.
Barnes, who was playing her final regular-season home game for the Gaels, and head coach Dave Wilson both said they were disappointed not to get the win, but took some comfort from sticking with a top team like the Lions for so long. Looking at their performances this weekend, it's tough not to agree: they've shown they can play with the best in the league. However, the issue now is finding consistency: this is, after all, the team that lost to the 2-18 Ottawa Gee-Gees only last Tuesday. Interestingly enough, the Gaels play Ottawa and 6-14 Carleton again on the road next weekend. A pair of wins would give them some solid momentum heading into the playoffs, especially as there's a good chance they'll face the Ravens in the first round. Wilson, Barnes and Anne Murphy all mentioned that they'd like to avenge Tuesday's defeat to Ottawa, so the Gaels seem to have some extra motivation for that clash on Friday.
One final note from this game: Firmi again had a solid game with five assists, five points and eight rebounds, third-best in the game (behind only Van Hoof's 13 boards and Barnes' nine). However, she fouled out for the third game in a row. Granted, this time it wasn't until overtime, but I'm sure Wilson will be bugging her about that: the Gaels are a better team with her on the floor, so it's important for her to be more careful about fouls.
The men's game was pretty much as expected, as Queen's beat 5-13 York 74-67 to improve their own conference play record to 12-7. As I predicted yesterday, it was closer than the team's records would suggest. This time, however, the prediction worked out but the reasoning didn't. By all logic, Queen's should have run away with this game: they thoroughly outplayed York for most of the game, and they were getting ridiculously good looks at three-point shots, which normally spells disaster for the opposition. This time, though, Queen's couldn't hit a three for love or money in the first half: they were a lousy 3of 17 (18%) from deep in the first two quarters, and were even outscored 16-9 in the second frame, which meant that they held a slender 27-25 lead at the half.
The Gaels turned it around in the second though, and their shots started falling. The outcome was never really in question after Queen's went on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter. Their field goal percentage jumped from 30% to 57%, and they hit eight out of 16 threes for an astonishingly high 50% success rate. They outscored York 21-14 in the third, and only lost the fourth quarter by two points (28-26) despite some horrible turnovers and fouls near the end.
As expected, star forward Mitch Leger led the Gaels with 18 points, but it wasn't one of his greatest nights: he went six for 20 from the field, and hit just one of nine from downtown. He did add seven rebounds, though, which tied him for the team lead with rookie Nick DiDonato. The Mitchell brothers both had solid games: Travis put up 14 points and added five rebounds and three steals, while Simon recorded eight points, four rebounds and three assists. Rookie forward Jon Ogden also played well, notching 14 points and adding five rebounds. Guard Tut Rauch was the story for the Lions, as he recorded 29 points, almost half of their total offensive output. The Lions also went 21-24 from the foul line, which helped them keep it close.
Interestingly enough, Smart, Ogden and Simon Mitchell all agreed that nothing really changed from the first to the second half. They were getting similar looks, but the shots they missed in the first just started to drop in after the break. What I found particularly interesting was the difference in Smart's reactions after tonight's game and last night's thumping of Laurentian. Last night, they had a much bigger halftime lead (40-27 as opposed to 27-25), but Smart was really unhappy with their play in the first half. Tonight, with only a two-point margin, he wasn't all that disappointed in the team's early play: he recognized that they were playing well, but the shots just weren't falling. That's good coaching, if you ask me: knowing when to fume and knowing when your guys are already doing well, but it just isn't working. There's more to sports than the scoreline, as the piece I wrote for my Journal blog on today's Tottenham-Manchester United clash shows.
Next weekend, the Gaels face Ottawa and Carleton in a pair of tough matches. 15-4 Ottawa may be vulnerable, though: they dropped a 78-69 decision to Toronto tonight, and lost star guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe in the process. Sean Peter also didn't dress for the Gee-Gees, and it will be good news for the Gaels if one or both of them can't play Friday night: the duo combined for 31 points in Ottawa's close win over Queen's Tuesday night. Carleton looked invincible as always with a 100-77 win over Ryerson, but as I'm hoping is the case tomorrow, it's not always possible to maintain perfection. Simon Mitchell said the Gaels want to come out of next weekend with at least one win: that would certainly be an impressive outcome, regardless of which side they beat.
Related:
- Mark Wacyk's piece at cishoops.ca on the men's game.
- I'll have full stories on both games in Tuesday's Journal.
- Met up with Brock Harrison from the Kingston Whig-Standard at tonight's games: he should have pieces on both in Monday's paper.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Campus Corner: Tuesday night hoops
Just got back from the Queen's - Ottawa basketball games, which saw some surprising developments. The first game saw the Gee-Gees pick up only their second win of the season (and the other one was against RMC, so that hardly counts) against the 7-10 Gaels. Queen's had shown some signs of turning their poor season around lately after reeling off a couple of wins last weekend, but they left Ottawa in the game for far too long, and it eventually cost them.
The first half was pretty even throughout, with neither team able to build too much momentum. Queen's took a slim 33-32 lead into the break, but the Gaels were outscored 18-10 in the third and weren't able to make up the lost ground. Ottawa took a 12-point lead with 90 seconds left on a Katie Laurier field goal, but Gaels Sarah Barnes and Christine Wallace hit back-to-back threes to bring Queen's within six. That was as close as they got, though, and the game finished 68-63 for the Gee-Gees.
There were both upsides and downsides for Queen's in this one. After the game, head coach Dave Wilson legitimately cast much of the blame on the Gaels' twenty turnovers, but they certainly weren't helped by some interesting officiating. One call in particular that hurt Queen's was a suspect fifth foul on starting point guard Teddi Firmi with five minutes left. Firmi was run over by an Ottawa forward driving the hoop, but the call went against her and the Gaels experienced a severe guard shortage (Jaime Dale didn't dress due to injury), which certainly hurt them down the stretch. Firmi was having a solid game, too, as she put up six points, three assists, and a team-high eight rebounds, with six of them coming from the defensive glass (Aside: can anyone think of another team where the point guard often leads in rebounding?).
On the bright side, Brittany Moore did a nice job at shooting guard in place of Dale for much of the game, knocking down a team-high 18 points and adding three rebounds. Alaina Porter had a strong game with 12 points and four rebounds, while Anne Murphy chipped in eight points and six rebounds. It definitely wasn't a total write-off for the Gaels, and as Firmi pointed out afterwards, it certainly shows they need to bring intensity to every game. I'll have the full story on this one in Friday's Journal.
The men's game also provided an interesting matchup. I was expecting things to be reasonably close, as both teams have been in the national top-10 rankings this year (Ottawa was 13-3 heading into the game and sat sixth in the coaches' poll, while Queen's was 10-6 and unranked). However, it wasn't even a contest at first, as Ottawa stormed out to a 25-7 lead early on. Queen's managed to stop the bleeding, though, largely through the insertion of point guard Baris Ondul (playing in his first game back since his groin injury earlier this year). Ondul still didn't look 100 per cent, especially late in the game, but his tenacious defending and strong distribution of the ball made a huge difference. Queen's outscored Ottawa 24-14 in the second quarter, and only trailed 34-31 at the half.
Another slow start cost the Gaels in the second half, as the Gee-Gees quickly jumped out to a 45-33 lead. They widened the lead to 14 points early in the fourth quarter, but Queen's came back within eight, courtesy of some strong three-point shooting by guard Simon Mitchell. Ottawa again widened the lead, but Queen's started knocking down three-point shots like there was no tomorrow, with Jon Ogden hitting two, Simon adding another and his brother Travis chipping in a fourth. Simon Mitchell's three-pointer cut the lead to three with less than five seconds left, setting the stage for a fantastic finish.
Gael forward Nick DiDonato promptly fouled Ottawa veteran David Labentowicz on the inbound, and he stepped up to the line. Facing the hostile atmosphere of a packed house (with encouragement from the Queen's Bands and the competitive cheerleading squad), Labentowicz cracked and air-balled his first shot. Queen's crowded the key with three defenders on the second attempt, hoping for a rebound, while Ottawa elected to focus on defending downcourt and only sent guard Sean Peter in for a rebound. Labentowicz missed again, but against the odds, one rebounder prevailed over three and Peter came up with the ball. DiDonato quickly fouled him, but he hit one of his shots to put the game out of reach. The Gaels' inbounds pass was intercepted, and the game finished 74-70.
There were several interesting things to note in this one. Gaels' star Mitch Leger had a solid first three quarters, putting up 13 points, eight rebounds, a block and a steal. However, coach Rob Smart sent him to the bench for most of the fourth quarter, and he didn't play at all inside the last ten minutes. It's highly unusual to sit a star in crunch time during such a close game, so there's the possibility of injury: Gaels' fans will certainly hope it was just an odd coaching decision, though, as this team doesn't seem likely to do too much without Mitch.
Also, fourth-year guard Simon Mitchell had another outstanding game. He was called upon to shoulder much of the point guard's role, with Ondul limited to 13 minutes, but he again proved he's very capable in this slot. He knocked down 21 points and added five assists (both team-highs), while also chipping in four defensive rebounds.
The key thing for me was this team's ability to shoot the three when they're hot. Overall, they were a pretty lousy 29.4 per cent from downtown, but towards the end, everything they threw up was going in. The majority of the late shots were contested, but it didn't seem to matter. If they can just channel that more often, they may be able to pull off some playoff success. Their free-throw shooting is also very impressive: five players were perfect from the line, and the team overall converted 84.2 per cent of their foul shots, much better than Ottawa's 67.9 per cent. They were slightly out-rebounded by the Gee-Gees (38 to 35), but pulled down 12 offensive boards against Ottawa's eight. They also showed that they have scoring depth: four players hit double digits (both Mitchells, Leger and Ogden). The Gaels aren't quite up there with the Carletons of this world yet, but they certainly showed they can run with the Ottawas: if they had come out of the gate with the intensity they showed towards the end, they probably would have won this one. Katie McKenna (who's proving to be a great sportswriter when she isn't busy stopping shots for the women's soccer team) will have the full story in Friday's paper.
The next matchups for the hoops squads will also be interesting: both teams face the Laurentian Voyageurs Friday and the York Lions Saturday. Both women's teams are very strong (York is a league-leading 15-3, while Laurentian is 13-5), but the men's teams are considerably weaker. The Lions are 4-13, while the Voyageurs are 3-14, ahead of only the pitiful 0-17 RMC Paladins. My prediction is two wins for the men and two losses for the women, but you never know what will happen in OUA athletics...
Related links:
- Mark Wacyk's take on the game over at cishoops.ca
- Neate Sager's post on the game and the most recent top-10 rankings
The first half was pretty even throughout, with neither team able to build too much momentum. Queen's took a slim 33-32 lead into the break, but the Gaels were outscored 18-10 in the third and weren't able to make up the lost ground. Ottawa took a 12-point lead with 90 seconds left on a Katie Laurier field goal, but Gaels Sarah Barnes and Christine Wallace hit back-to-back threes to bring Queen's within six. That was as close as they got, though, and the game finished 68-63 for the Gee-Gees.
There were both upsides and downsides for Queen's in this one. After the game, head coach Dave Wilson legitimately cast much of the blame on the Gaels' twenty turnovers, but they certainly weren't helped by some interesting officiating. One call in particular that hurt Queen's was a suspect fifth foul on starting point guard Teddi Firmi with five minutes left. Firmi was run over by an Ottawa forward driving the hoop, but the call went against her and the Gaels experienced a severe guard shortage (Jaime Dale didn't dress due to injury), which certainly hurt them down the stretch. Firmi was having a solid game, too, as she put up six points, three assists, and a team-high eight rebounds, with six of them coming from the defensive glass (Aside: can anyone think of another team where the point guard often leads in rebounding?).
On the bright side, Brittany Moore did a nice job at shooting guard in place of Dale for much of the game, knocking down a team-high 18 points and adding three rebounds. Alaina Porter had a strong game with 12 points and four rebounds, while Anne Murphy chipped in eight points and six rebounds. It definitely wasn't a total write-off for the Gaels, and as Firmi pointed out afterwards, it certainly shows they need to bring intensity to every game. I'll have the full story on this one in Friday's Journal.
The men's game also provided an interesting matchup. I was expecting things to be reasonably close, as both teams have been in the national top-10 rankings this year (Ottawa was 13-3 heading into the game and sat sixth in the coaches' poll, while Queen's was 10-6 and unranked). However, it wasn't even a contest at first, as Ottawa stormed out to a 25-7 lead early on. Queen's managed to stop the bleeding, though, largely through the insertion of point guard Baris Ondul (playing in his first game back since his groin injury earlier this year). Ondul still didn't look 100 per cent, especially late in the game, but his tenacious defending and strong distribution of the ball made a huge difference. Queen's outscored Ottawa 24-14 in the second quarter, and only trailed 34-31 at the half.
Another slow start cost the Gaels in the second half, as the Gee-Gees quickly jumped out to a 45-33 lead. They widened the lead to 14 points early in the fourth quarter, but Queen's came back within eight, courtesy of some strong three-point shooting by guard Simon Mitchell. Ottawa again widened the lead, but Queen's started knocking down three-point shots like there was no tomorrow, with Jon Ogden hitting two, Simon adding another and his brother Travis chipping in a fourth. Simon Mitchell's three-pointer cut the lead to three with less than five seconds left, setting the stage for a fantastic finish.
Gael forward Nick DiDonato promptly fouled Ottawa veteran David Labentowicz on the inbound, and he stepped up to the line. Facing the hostile atmosphere of a packed house (with encouragement from the Queen's Bands and the competitive cheerleading squad), Labentowicz cracked and air-balled his first shot. Queen's crowded the key with three defenders on the second attempt, hoping for a rebound, while Ottawa elected to focus on defending downcourt and only sent guard Sean Peter in for a rebound. Labentowicz missed again, but against the odds, one rebounder prevailed over three and Peter came up with the ball. DiDonato quickly fouled him, but he hit one of his shots to put the game out of reach. The Gaels' inbounds pass was intercepted, and the game finished 74-70.
There were several interesting things to note in this one. Gaels' star Mitch Leger had a solid first three quarters, putting up 13 points, eight rebounds, a block and a steal. However, coach Rob Smart sent him to the bench for most of the fourth quarter, and he didn't play at all inside the last ten minutes. It's highly unusual to sit a star in crunch time during such a close game, so there's the possibility of injury: Gaels' fans will certainly hope it was just an odd coaching decision, though, as this team doesn't seem likely to do too much without Mitch.
Also, fourth-year guard Simon Mitchell had another outstanding game. He was called upon to shoulder much of the point guard's role, with Ondul limited to 13 minutes, but he again proved he's very capable in this slot. He knocked down 21 points and added five assists (both team-highs), while also chipping in four defensive rebounds.
The key thing for me was this team's ability to shoot the three when they're hot. Overall, they were a pretty lousy 29.4 per cent from downtown, but towards the end, everything they threw up was going in. The majority of the late shots were contested, but it didn't seem to matter. If they can just channel that more often, they may be able to pull off some playoff success. Their free-throw shooting is also very impressive: five players were perfect from the line, and the team overall converted 84.2 per cent of their foul shots, much better than Ottawa's 67.9 per cent. They were slightly out-rebounded by the Gee-Gees (38 to 35), but pulled down 12 offensive boards against Ottawa's eight. They also showed that they have scoring depth: four players hit double digits (both Mitchells, Leger and Ogden). The Gaels aren't quite up there with the Carletons of this world yet, but they certainly showed they can run with the Ottawas: if they had come out of the gate with the intensity they showed towards the end, they probably would have won this one. Katie McKenna (who's proving to be a great sportswriter when she isn't busy stopping shots for the women's soccer team) will have the full story in Friday's paper.
The next matchups for the hoops squads will also be interesting: both teams face the Laurentian Voyageurs Friday and the York Lions Saturday. Both women's teams are very strong (York is a league-leading 15-3, while Laurentian is 13-5), but the men's teams are considerably weaker. The Lions are 4-13, while the Voyageurs are 3-14, ahead of only the pitiful 0-17 RMC Paladins. My prediction is two wins for the men and two losses for the women, but you never know what will happen in OUA athletics...
Related links:
- Mark Wacyk's take on the game over at cishoops.ca
- Neate Sager's post on the game and the most recent top-10 rankings
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