Box Score Guelph, Ont. – Saturday afternoon at the W.F. Mitchell Athletic Centre the Gryphon women's basketball team lost 67-53 to the Laurier Golden Hawks in what was the opening OUA game of the 2015 schedule for both teams. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 5-3 on the season, while the Golden Hawks improve to 8-1.
The game got off to a sluggish start as both teams traded turnovers and defensive stands.
Katelyn Yallin (Port Colborne, ON) made an immediate impact hitting a huge three right after being subbed into the game to give the Gyrphons a spark. The first quarter ended with Laurier holding a slim 13-10 lead. The start of the second saw the Golden Hawks push their lead to ten as they went on a 9-2 run. The Gryphons were able to mount a comeback on the shoulders of
Vanessa Rampado (Niagara Falls, ON) and
Bridget Atkinson (Welland, ON) and trim the deficit to just three at the break as Laurier led 28-25 going into the half.
Atkinson continued her strong play in the third quarter adding another six points to her total as she helped the Gryphons take the lead. But that lead would not last long, as Laurier's 6-foot-3, fifth year centre Whitney Ellenor (Pickering, ON) was causing matchup problems all game long. Ellenor was an efficient six of nine from the field to finish with 15 points and seven rebounds. After three quarters of play, Laurier led 45-40.
In the fourth quarter, the Golden Hawks would pull away, outscoring the Gryphons 22-13 in the final frame. Despite the fact that Ellenor was sitting on four fouls, she continued to make a difference at both ends of the court.
Overall, it was a rough shooting night for the Gryphons who hit just one three pointer in the game and shot just 29% from the field overall.
Katherine MacTavish (Waterloo, Ont.) was the Gryphons leading scorer with 15 points on seven of 18 shooting, while Bridget Atkinson finished with 14 points.
The Gryphons will look to get back into the win column as they make a trip to the nation's capital for a pair of weekend games beginning with the Carleton Ravens (on Friday, Jan. 16) and Ottawa Gee-Gees (on Saturday, Jan. 17).
