KINGSTON, Ont. - Beginning your season on the road is never easy. What's even tougher is starting your season on the road while being the visitors in the home-opener for a top-five team in Canada. No matter the situation though the Guelph Gryphons (1-0) were up to the task Friday afternoon, as they rolled in to Kingston and began their season with a 78-73 win over the No. 5-nationally ranked Queen's Gaels (2-1).

Taking advantage of a surge of three-pointers midway through the 4th quarter, the Gryphons were able to come from behind and then fend off the pesky Gaels the rest of the way. With four different players in double-digits in points, the Gryphons were not forced to rely on only one or two players for offence. Instead, they continued to move the ball around while getting contributions from everyone in the win. 

With neither team able to create much more than a four-point lead throughout the first three quarters of play, the stage was set for the Gryphons to make some noise late. Trailing 55-51 early in the final quarter, the Gryphons offence began to make their mark. Converting on seven straight shots, with five of those being from three-point range, Guelph all of a sudden had themselves a 70-59 lead. Despite a late push from the home team, the Gryphons remained calm, cool and collected knocking down shots in the late stages, as well as free-throws. No bigger than two made by Hanna Pryce with 2.5 seconds left to secure the victory.

Leading the way for the Gryphons was 5th-year guard Ivana Vujadinovic who scored a team-high 18 points. Meanwhile, Burke Bechard, a 3rd-year Psychology student poured in 16 points to go with 12 rebounds, eight of which coming off the offensive glass. Skyla Minaker had 14 points for the Gryphons, and Reece Mungar added 12 more. Coming off the bench, Sarah Holmes also made her presence felt, connecting three times from beyond the arc for nine points.

Defensively, the Gryphons held the Gaels to 39.7 percent from the field in the game, while also holding them to just 35.3 percent from the field in the final quarter. Guelph meanwhile, shot 66.7 percent in the 4th-quarter, while also going 5 for 9 from three-point range.

While handing the Gaels their first loss of the season, Guelph managed to build plenty of momentum as they get set to head into their own home-opener. The Gryphons will quickly return home to the GGAC as they prepare to host the York Lions Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 6:00pm on November 2nd, when the Gryphons try to start their season 2-0.