TORONTO, ON – Saturday evening at the Tait McKenzie Gymnasium on the campus of York University, the Gryphons women's basketball team won 75-56 over the York Lions. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 7-6 on the season while the Lions fall to 2-12.
After having suffered a 14-point loss Friday night at Queen's, the Gryphons were right back at it on Saturday night at York in a game that marked the fourth of six straight road games for the Gryphons. Despite the fact that York came into this game with one of the worst records in the league, they were able to get off to a fast start as they started the game on 7-0 run. The quick start from York certainly grabbed the attention of the Gryphons who would quickly recover, using a 24-2 run over a span of 5:43 to take a 27-13 lead after the opening quarter of play. The Gryphons wouldn't look back from there.
Guelph won the turnover battle in convincing fashion Saturday night, forcing York into 21 turnovers while committing just 9 themselves. The Gryphons also did a solid job getting to the free throw line, going 22-of-28 from the charity stripe, led by
Dana Van Balkom who was 9-of-10 on free throws.
The Lions were able to remain in striking distance and were trailing by eight at halftime. In the third quarter however, the Gryphons would blow things wide open thanks to a 13-0 run that pushed the Guelph lead to 27.
Four Gryphon players finished in double figures in scoring with fifth year guard Dana Van Balkom leading all scorers with 17 points.
Kate MacTavish finished with 13 points in just 15 minutes of floor time, while
Barbara Inrig-Pieterse chipped in with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Second year point guard
Bridget Atkinson filled up the stat sheet, finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
The Gryphons (7-6) sit third in the OUA Central division with six games remaining on their regular season schedule. The Gryphons will play each of their next two games in Waterloo as they will face Laurier on Friday (Feb. 12) and Waterloo on Saturday (Feb. 13).
