WINDSOR, Ont. – Saturday night (Feb. 22) at the Toldo Lancer Centre in Windsor, the Guelph Gryphons women's basketball team saw their 2024-25 season come to an end after a heartbreaking 73-67 OUA quarterfinal loss to the No. 3-seeded Windsor Lancers. The Lancers, like in the previous two matchups in the regular season against the Gryphons, would use a big third quarter to turn the game around outscoring Guelph 29-14 in the third to help Windsor earn a spot in the OUA semifinals. Guelph came into the OUA playoffs as the No. 6-seed after needing a fourth quarter comeback on Wednesday night (Feb. 19) to knock off the No. 11-seed Laurier Golden Hawks to earn a quarterfinal matchup against the No. 3-seed Windsor Lancers, who finished the regular season with an 18-4 record.

Saturday night's quarterfinal matchup in Windsor marked the third time this season that OUA West division rivals Guelph and Windsor met up. The Gryphons had a strong opening 20 minutes of play on Saturday night in Windsor, as they took a 37-26 lead into the locker room at halftime, holding Windsor to 8-32 shooting from the field in the opening half. However, the third quarter would see the Lancers erase the halftime deficit and take the lead. Windsor made 12 of their 18 shots in the third, outscoring the Gryphons 29-14 in the quarter, turning an 11-point halftime deficit into a 4-point advantage as they took a 55-51 lead into the fourth. The Gryphons would not go down without a fight as they chipped away at the deficit, including getting a huge three from Hannah Bourdon with 6:39 left in the fourth to tie the game up at 59.But with the Lancers leading 63-61, Windsor would start to extend their lead after back-to-back possessions resulted in a Windsor made three-pointer and a layup in the next trip down the floor to extend the Lancers lead to 7 points. Guelph got it back within two after Julia Colavecchia hit a three to make the score 68-66 with under three minutes remaining. With :12 seconds remaining in regulation and Windsor leading 70-67, the Gryphons got the break they needed when Harriet Carey missed both her free throws but the Gryphons were unable to secure the rebound off the missed free throw as the Lancers grabbed the offensive rebound forcing Guelph to foul. Vanessa Budimunda would make both her free throws to make it a five-point lead for Windsor, who would hold on from there to book their spot in the OUA semifinal with the win.

Gryphons third-year guard Hannah Bourdon led the team in scoring with 19 points, including five from behind the arc for the Fort Erie, Ontario native. Lucy Tesseyman finished the night with 15 points while Julia Colavecchia and Renee Armstrong both had 13 points apiece. The Lancers were led by Kali Grootenboer who scored 22 points (8-11 shooting).

With the win, the Lancers advance to the OUA semifinals and will travel to Ottawa to face the Gee-Gees on Saturday (March 1). The other OUA semifinal sees the Carleton Ravens host the TMU Bold. For the Gryphons, this marked the end of an impresssive 2024-25 season, one in which the team was able to reach the OUA quarterfinal stage for a fourth consecutive year.