WATERLOO, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's basketball team has been working hard to get back on the winning track. Guelph almost got there in front of a big School Day crowd Wednesday afternoon but a fourth-quarter comeback came up short as the Laurier Golden Hawks defeated the visitors 78-69 in a loud Athletic Complex Gym.
The Gryphons trailed by as many as 16 points in the third quarter but began to mount a serious rally. When veteran guard
Sarah Holmes found
Burke Bechard for a layup, Guelph was within four at 66-62 with 2:20 left. Bechard, who had game-highs with 20 points and 14 rebounds, finished with her left after a killer crossover to make it 69-66 Laurier with 51 seconds remaining on the clock.
But that's as close as the Gryphons would get. The Hawks, who got 19 points each from Brianna Iannazzo and Jill Condron, as well as four consecutive free throws from Rachel Woodburn in the final minute, executed well late to secure the win. Holmes finished with 11 points, while
Hanna Pryce and rookie
Natalie Vigna (3 for 3 from the floor) had 8 points apiece.
Guelph, which was without injured starter
Ivana Vujadinovic, had just 6 assists on the day but rued the fact that there were missed layups, which the team has been trying to address in practice lately. The Gryphons missed 10 in the fourth quarter alone, a big difference-maker considering the run they made.
The visitors were passive in the first half and got to the line just twice, which contributed to a 14-point deficit (36-22) at the break. Guelph attacked the basket much more in the third quarter, resulting in 8 free throw makes from 10 attempts. And while the team continued to stay aggressive in the fourth, the misses proved costly.
The Gryphons made just 26 of 79 shots from the floor (32.9 per cent), while also struggling from outside the arc (4-for-18, 22.2 per cent) and the free-throw line (13 of 21, 61.9 percent).
Gryphon Take
"You can't win a basketball game missing that many layups. It's been a problem that last few weeks. I was encouraged by what we did in the fourth quarter to get back in the game, especially with a couple of freshmen (Vigna and Tatjana Boskovic) on the court."
– head coach Mark Walton
The Record
Guelph is 5-12.
Next up
@ Windsor, Saturday, Jan. 26, 6 pm
