Box Score WATERLOO, Ont. - The Golden Hawks ended the 2021 portion of their schedule on a high note Saturday, splitting a home-and-home against the Windsor Lancers with a 56-50 win at the Laurier Athletics Complex.
After losing by 15 to the Lancers on the road Wednesday, the Golden Hawks stepped up in a big way to bounce back.
Saturday's first quarter saw Laurier outscore the Lancers 14-9 with
Alexa Sawchuk (Kingston, Ont.) leading the way by scoring six points on a pair of three-pointers. Their lead was also built on lockdown defence holding Windsor to just 4 for 22 shotting from the field.
The Golden Hawks carried that same defensive effort into the second quarter, forcing the Lancers to commit five turnovers while also Laurier out-scoring their divisional rival 20-15. At halftime, Laurier found themselves up 34-24.
In the third quarter, the Golden Hawks' shooting cooled down; going 0 for 7 from three. Despite being outscored 14-13,
Maddy White (Bolton, Ont.) played a large role in keeping the Hawks in the game, scoring eight points in the frame.. Laurier maintained a nine-point lead heading into the fourth.
The final quarter saw the Lancers make a late game run, cutting Laurier's lead to one with three minutes left. However, a timeout by Golden Hawks head coach
Paul Falco helped the team rregroup and end the Lancers scoring streak and ultimately win the game by six.
After being heavily outrebounded on Wednesday, the Hawks were virtually even with the Lancers in that category on Saturday. The Golden Hawks also finished with nine steals and kept the Lancers to just 3 for 28 from three.
Reflecting on the fourth quarter timeout he called with Windsor making a push to overtake Laurier, Falco recalled talking with the group "about settling down and staying composed".
"I also thought we were a little tentative offensively so we talked about looking to attack in transition," he said.
In terms of the main difference between his team's weekend performance versus Wednesday's loss, he felt it came down to defence and rebounding.
"To hold them to just three three-pointers and stay fairly even on the boards was a big factor in the victory."
Top Performers
Golden Hawks
F-
Alexa Sawchuk
The rookie forward played a pivotal role in Laurier's second win of the season, scoring eight points while collecting seven rebounds and four steals.
Lancers
G - Mariame Dehkissia
The native of Sherbrooke, Que. saw the most court time of any Lancers player, tallying a team-high 11 points and five rebounds.
Up Next
The Golden Hawks are off until the new year. They will play two exhibition games at York on January 5 and at Ryerson on January 7. Tip-off for both games is set for 7 p.m.
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