GUELPH, ON - The University of Guelph's past and present came together for a final night of regular season women's basketball at the W.F. Mitchell Centre. With some of the program's elite alumni on hand, it was appropriate that the longest-serving Gryphons led the way to a victory that clinched a home playoff game. Fifth-year seniors Dana Van Balkom and Kate MacTavish had 14 and 13 points respectively as Guelph beat the Brock Badgers 57-48 in front of a big crowd celebrating the Mitchell Centre's long history.
  The two seniors were dominant in the second half, helping the Gryphons ensure that there would be at least one more game on home court. They will host Brock again next Wednesday.
  "Fifth year is a magical year," head coach Christin Dickenson said of MacTavish and Van Balkom. "A lot of things tend to click at that time. You have the experience, you've been there before so to see the two of them step up tonight was a really proud moment."
  MacTavish, celebrating her 23rd birthday, was a force inside. She grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, all on the defensive glass. In one sequence down the stretch, she blocked Brock's Kira Corenlissen twice in a row and then finished inside at the other end to put Guelph up 53-43. The special circumstances surrounding the game, as well as the stakes that came with it, were not lost on the veteran from Waterloo.
  "It's an incredible experience to play in front of all the alumni here," said MacTavish. "This is the best we've done over my five years here. 
  "We spent our whole careers in this gym. It's a great feeling but it's bittersweet."
  Brock came out firing in the third quarter but Van Balkom took over for a stretch. The senior guard from Hamilton scored 7 straight points on a lefty layup, a 3-pointer on the break and another layup that gave Guelph an 8-point lead midway through the third. She also cooly nailed another 3 from the right wing that stretched Guelph's lead to double digits at 50-40 with under 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
  "It was the best feeling," said Van Balkom, who added 9 rebounds. "We've talked about it all the time, that we haven't reached our potential in our five years here. This is the best we've done and what a great way to end on that note. It's truly the end of an era.
  "It's been the most overwhelming 48 hours. A rollercoaster of emotions with Senior Night, being in a close game with Mac last night, winning tonight, it's Kate's birthday. There's just so much we've been celebrating these last four home games. It's just a great way to end."
  Bridget Atkinson scored 12 points, including 6 of the Gryphons 9 in the first quarter. Guelph was strong on the defensive end and forced the skilled shooting Badgers into a number of tough possessions where the shot clock wound down. Brock shot just 25.8 per cent from the floor on the night (17-66).
  "We're a defence-first team so for us to hold them to 48 points makes me very happy," said Dickenson. "Our confidence comes from the defensive end and playing as a team."
  The win was huge for the Gryphons but the night was also about the past in a building that opened almost 60 years ago. A large contingent from the Mitchell family was on hand to participate in the ceremonial opening tip between the team captains. There was a video presentation at halftime featuring former Gryphon stars like Stephanie Yallin, who recounted her memories from the W. F. Mitchell Centre, including the OUA title Guelph won in 2005. Yallin, along with former player Laurie Townshend and former coach Angela Orton were honoured at mid court after the video. Orton, who coached the program for 22 years and won three OUA Coach of the Year awards, received a standing O from the W.F. Mitchell Centre crowd.
  Dickenson was pleased with how this edition of the program closed out the last regular season game on the University's home court.
  "These guys worked so incredibly hard every day and at the beginning of the season, we said that we wanted to change our story," said Dickenson. "We have five seniors graduating, this facility is closing and we're trying to honour every single athlete that wore a Gryphon jersey on this court. 
  "They were so inspired to show everybody what it means to be a Gryphon and that's something that we take a great of pride in."
  Guelph's players celebrated loudly but they're eager to get back at it next Wednesday.
  "It was so exciting to have all the fans here," said Van Balkom. "We hope everyone comes out again on Wednesday. We would love to keep it going.
  "It defines how tight our Gryphon community is."