LONDON, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's basketball team came up with one of its best fourth quarters of the OUA season. But Guelph was just short of a dramatic comeback win, falling 70-66 to the Western Mustangs on the road Saturday night.
 
The Gryphons trailed by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter but pushed their way back into the game with a furious 15-0 run. A Hanna Pryce layup with 3:35 left on the clock tied the game 64-64 but Western closed well, going on a 6-0 run to seize control and register a hard-fought victory.
 
Modupe Okeowo led Guelph with an impressive double-double, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, as well as making 4 steals. Second-year guards Burke Bechard and Skyla Minaker had 16 and 12 points respectively.
 
Western's ability to hit three-pointers proved to be the big difference on the night. While the Mustangs made 9 of 25 from beyond the arc, Guelph, which entered the game ranked 11th in the OUA connecting on 27.5 per cent of its attempts (65-236, 16th in the conference in total makes), had a dismal time shooting. The Gryphons went 0-for-7 through the first two quarters and 2-for-16 overall.
 
Guelph's first of the night came from Minaker at 6:07 of the fourth quarter and it was critical, sparking the incredible 15-0 run that put the team in position to steal a win. The Gryphons outscored Western 24-13 in the fourth quarter but Brett Fischer's layup put Western up 66-64 and the offence dried up for the visitors down the stretch.
 
The Gryphons were slow to the get offence going, especially in the first quarter when they posted just 10 points. Guelph was overly reliant on Okeowo, who had 16 first-half points as they went into the break trailing 35-28.
 
Gryphon Take
"We gave up too many threes and missed too many layups to expect a win. Modupe had another double-double, which helped. Sky and Burke were tough and worked hard, as always. We have to regroup and get ready for Laurier on Wednesday." – head coach Mark Walton

The Record
Guelph is 5-11
 
Next up
School Day @ Laurier, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 1 pm