GUELPH, Ont. - Saturday night at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre the Gryphons women's basketball team suffered a 68-62 loss to their OUA West rivals, the Western Mustangs. With the loss the Gryphons move to 13-7 on the season and into a tie with the Waterloo Warriors for first-place in the division, while the Mustangs improve to 11-9. With two games remaining on the regular season schedule the Gryphons, who have already clinched a postseason berth, are looking to break the tie with the Warriors and earn a bye through to the quarterfinal round of the Critelli Cup playoffs. 

In a game which also served as the 2023-24 'Senior Night' celebration, it was graduating forward Trinity Papamandjaris who produced an all-round performance with 5 points, 8 rebounds,4 blocks, and 2 steals. Offensively, all-star talent Renee Armstrong led all scorers with 24 points while also recording her third double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. The third-year child studies major also totaled 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Also reaching the double-digit point was another pair of third-year student-athletes in Julia Colavecchia and Lucy Tesseyman, who each recorded 11 points. 

After a tightly contested opening quarter the Gryphons found themselves trailing at the half after a 20-12 Western scoring advantage in the second frame. The U of G team would bounce back in the third, cutting the Mustang lead to just two points after 30 minutes of action. Despite Western having an advantage in the third quarter shooting percentages, the Gryphons were able to draw seven fouls and head to the line for 12 shots which led to a 5-point advantage in the quarter. The final frame of the contest saw the Gryphons battle to tie the game at 62 apiece with two minutes remaining, but an 6-0 scoring run from the Mustangs would see the U of G team fall 68-82. 

The Gryphons (13-7) will now close out the season on the road next weekend with games against the Nipissing Lakers (3-17) and Laurentian Voyageurs (5-15) on Friday (Feb. 16) and Saturday (Feb. 17). Following the end of the regular season the Gryphons will then head to the postseason where the will play their first playoff game on either February 21 (Wed) or 24 (Sat).