THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's basketball team has been on upward trajectory for each of the last three seasons. But the next step forward the young Gryphons take will have to wait until next year. The Gryphons, buoyed by an upset win in the opening round of the playoffs, fought but eventually fell 79-71 to the No. 2-seeded Lakehead Thunderwolves in the OUA West semi-final Saturday night in Thunder Bay.
Lakehead, ranked No. 7 in U SPORTS, will move on to face the Ottawa Gee-gees in the nation's capital, while Guelph will end a trying, injury-plagued season that got really exciting down the stretch.
Modupe Okeowo led the team with 19 points to go along with 6 rebounds, while second-year star guard
Burke Bechard posted another double-double with 14 points and 11 boards, in addition to chipping in 6 assists and 5 steals. Point guard
Skyla Minaker had 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
This was a game that was in reach and the upstart Gryphons were close to pulling another upset just a few nights after shocking Windsor 62-59. Guelph entered the fourth quarter trailing 58-50 but there was no quit as the hosts chipped away at the Thunderwolves' lead and got to within a bucket when Bechard slashed to the hoop to make it 67-65 for the hosts.
Lakehead went on a 5-0 run but a
Sarah Holmes three-pointer trimmed it to 72-68 with about one minute remaining.
That was as close as Guelph would get. Lakehead's Leashja Grant, the OUA scoring and rebounder leader with totals of 20.6 points and 12.5 boards, was handful for the Gryphons, registering a game-high 24 points with 9 rebounds.
The visitors showed some patience early and didn't panic when Lakehead jumped out to an 8-2 lead after the opening tip. Guelph responded with a 10-4 run to go up for the first time but the Thunderwolves began to slowly pull away from that point on. It didn't help that the Gryphons went cold from the floor, shooting just 31.6 per cent in the first half compared to 54.8 per cent for Lakehead en route to a 39-32 lead at the break.
Guelph battled injuries all year to key players and had trouble replicating the defensive tenacity that earned the team a somewhat unexpected berth in the OUA playoffs last season. It had a definite impact on the team's rhythm and flow but the Gryphons looked found their identity late, used some young players like
Natalie Vigna, and closed winning three of the last four games to enter the postseason with momentum. They delivered against a tough Windsor team last Wednesday and were a couple good possessions away from making it out of the Thunderdome with another victory.
Bechard ended up fourth in OUA scoring with a team-high 15.8 points per game, while also ranking third among conference rebounders at 8.5 per game.
Gryphon Take
"I'm certainly proud. It was frustrating we got into the position where we were down but when we clawed back, it was typical, forcing turnovers with good defence. In the end, we just gave them too many easy baskets. And Leashja is a load. She actually missed her share of shots tonight but we just didn't capitalize and threw the ball away. We have to learn that poise that it takes in that situation."
"I'm optimistic about the future. When we dealt with injuries all year long, it had to be part of the learning process. You have to make plays, not excuses. Our mantra was united we stand, divided we fall and overall, we did that. In the room, we talked about the future. And how good next season can be will depend on what they do between now and September."
– Gryphon head coach Mark Walton
