GUELPH – The Guelph Gryphons basketball team is gearing up for OUA playoff basketball. Guelph knows the team it will face. The only question is where they will play. The Gryphons took a step towards that answer with a solid 71-51 victory over the Waterloo Warriors at the GGAC Wednesday night.
The win was Guelph's fifth in a row and improves the season record to 13-10, which is identical to Western's, the team the Gryphons will meet in the playoffs. They will also go at it this Saturday in Guelph, with the winner going on to host in the OUA West opening round game.
But the more immediate concern for the streaking Gryphons was to take care of business against the Warriors – and they did just that. Guelph pressured Waterloo relentlesslyand were aggressive when they had ball, utilizing long outlet passes to get behind the visitors' defence.
Head coach Mark Walton has encouraged the young Gryphons to dictate on defence rather than react.
"That aggressive mindset then carries over to the offensive end," said Walton. "If you don't like it, get out of the way."
Senior guard
Haley Belyk had 12 points, all of them coming in the critical first half when she hit 3 of 5 from long range, and added 3 of her game-high 5 steals.
Sarah Holmes had 7 points and led all players with 8 rebounds, while
Burke Bechard had 6 points, 6 rebounds and a game-high 4 assists. All 12 Gryphons found the scoresheet and the team was poised at the free throw line, knocking down 15 of 20 attempts.
The Gryphons held a big 62-41 lead the end of three quarters, though Waterloo showed some desperation and trimmed the deficit in the fourth. Julia Pavlik hit a three-pointer to make it 66-51 with 6:34 remaining, forcing Guelph to call a timeout. The Warriors would go cold from there and the Gryphons closed it out.
Both teams struggled to maintain any offensive rhythm early on but Guelph, which led 18-16 after the opening quarter, eventually found another gear. With about four minutes left in the second quarter, the Gryphons pulled away from Waterloo starting with a
Quincy Sickles-Jarvis jumper that spurred a 14-2 run and sent the hosts into half time up comfortably at 40-23.
"It's always huge when we can make those kind of runs," said Walton. "It can dictate the result of the game early and that was big for us tonight, which allowed the bench to contribute. That's what it takes."
Guelph held the Warriors without a point for the final 7:33 of the quarter, forcing 13 first-half turnovers, while out rebounding Waterloo 21-11 (40-23 overall).
Walton was happy with the outcome and pleased that his team has continued to buy in. He was honoured by the words of the legendary Waterloo men's coach Don McCrae, who was in attendance Wednesday. Coach McCrae told Walton after the game that he loved the way the Gryphons were playing, intense and without fear.
"It's very gratifying for everybody," Walton said of the growth his team has shown since the season began. "It's all about the process. We've been talking about this all season and we want to maintain it."
The focus know shifts to the single game with Western, with home court on the line.
"There's incentive to not go back to Western." the coach said. "I also think we're a little stingier at home."
The tip against the Mustangs is 1 pm on Saturday, Feb. 17
