GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's basketball team returned to the court at the Gryphon Athletic Centre for the first time in two weeks to take on for the Waterloo Warriors. The Gryphons and Warriors were facing off for the second time in as many days as part of a home-and-home series. In their match last night (Jan. 19) the Gryphons left Waterloo with a 54-38 win in a physical hard-fought game. Today in Guelph it would be the Warriors who would return the favor, taking the win by a score of 82-74 in another physical affair.
 
The opening quarter saw the Warriors get off to a hot start and jumping out to a 7-0 lead. With the Gryphons struggling to maintain possession in the first, turning the ball over seven times, the visiting team would capitalize with scores from beyond the arc. The Warriors went 4-of-10 from the three-point line while the Gryphons only managed one basket from deep. The early lead would prove to be the difference maker at the end of the quarter as the Warriors would lead 21-14 after one.
 
The second quarter would see the Gryphon play improve but the Warriors still managed to extend their lead by three points. The second frame effort was led by 3^rd-year guard Renee Armstrong who scored 7 of her 12 total points in the quarter. The London, Ontario native would foul out late in the 4^th quarter but not before she added 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 trips to the charity strip to her stat line. The two teams would head into the locker room at the half with the Warriors leading 44-34.
 
The third quarter saw the Warriors quickly extend their lead to 15 before the Gryphons would go on an 11-2 run to pull within three of the Warriors. Waterloo would respond with back-to-back three-pointers to take make it a 62-53 game late in the quarter. The third frame saw 3^rd-year Family Studies and Human Development major Julia Colavecchia lead the Gryphon offence. Colavecchia scored 8 or her team-high 14 points on 3-of-4 shooting and pulled down three defence rebounds. After 30 minutes the Gryphons had cut the Warrior lead to just six points with just one quarter remaining.
 
The fourth frame saw an incredible back and forth affair that came down to the final minute where the Gryphons cut Waterloo's lead to just four points with 26 seconds remaining. Despite their best efforts the Gryphons would fall to Warriors after two free-throws and three-pointer would put the game away.
 
Playing without their 2^nd-leading scorer in Natalie Vigna the Gryphons received several standout performances in addition to Armstrong and Colavecchia. Standout guard MacKeely Shantz added 13 points, 7 rebounds, and a steal to her incredible 2022-23 season. Coming off the bench, Marielle Klueskens accounted for 12 of the Gryphons points while adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
 
The Gryphons (10-4) will look to bounce back on Wednesday next week (Jan. 25) when they return to the court at the GGAC to host the Laurentian Voyageurs. Tickets to the game can be purchased at gryphons.ca/tickets and fans unable to attend can watch online at www.out.tv.