GUELPH, Ont. – The Gryphons women's basketball team have advanced to the OUA Quarterfinals for a fifth consecutive season. On Wednesday night (Feb. 18) from the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre, the Gryphons defeated the Waterloo Warriors 77-66 in the opening round of the 2026 OUA women's basketball playoffs. The Gryphons entered the postseason as the No. 5-seed in the 12-team playoff field and were in control throughout the night against the No. 12-seed Waterloo Warriors.
It was the three-ball that got the Gryphons out to the early lead, making five from behind-the-arc to jump out to the 25-14 lead in the opening quarter. Guelph would never relinquish the lead the rest of the way as their defence held the Warriors to 34.4% shooting from the field on the night, maintaining their double-digit lead throughout the game. The Gryphs pulled away in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Warriors 21-12, en route to a 77-66 victory to advance to the OUA Quarterfinals where they will take on the No. 4-seed Carleton Ravens.
Keryl Ousey set the tone early for the Gryphons, scoring the team's first 7 points of the game, finishing the game with 14 points on 6-11 shooting from the field.
Hannah Bourdon led the way for the Gryphons, scoring a game-high 18 points to go along with her 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals.
Alexis Wright scored 16 on the night, making 3 of her 4 from behind the arc.
With the win, the Gryphons advance to the OUA Quarterfinals where they will travel to Ottawa to take on the No. 4-seed Carleton Ravens on Saturday night (Feb. 21). The Ravens finished with an identical 16-6 record but the head-to-head win on Oct. 25 over the Gryphons gave them the tiebreaker and the opening round bye. Tip off in Ottawa on Saturday night is set for 6pm at the Raven's Nest and will be streamed live online at www.oua.tv. The winner of the Gryphons-Ravens game will advance to the OUA semifinals, to face the winner of Queen's and York.
