Waterloo Ont. – The Laurier Golden Hawks and the Guelph Gryphons met at the Laurier Athletic Complex on Saturday for the second time this season. The last time these two teams met was this past Wednesday when the Gryphons beat the Golden Hawks 68-52, so tensions were high on both sides of the court.
After an extremely hard fought and close scoring game the Golden Hawks were able to hold onto their lead and win 61-59.
Stepping onto the court in the first quarter, it was clear that the Golden Hawks were looking to secure a win against the Gryphons. Kate White opened the scoring of the match with a solid three point shot around the 30 second mark.
The Golden Hawks held the lead for the first five minutes of play but around the five minute mark the Gryphons defence kicked into high gear and really began battling for possession of the ball, taking the lead until the last 30 seconds of the quarter. The first quarter finished with the Golden Hawks leading 20-19.
The second quarter of the game was very tight for the full 10 minutes. Cassidy Hirtle led the Golden Hawks squad through the quarter, putting up five points in eight minutes. Miranda Campbell, Martina Errazo, Alexa Sawchuk and Brittyn Graves all also put points on the board. At the end of the second quarter the Golden Hawks were trailing by one point.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the Gryphons had gained momentum and went on a solid 6-0Â run while dominating both play and possession. Near the halfway point of the quarter the Golden Hawks defence seemed to click in as they evened out possession and started playing offensively.
This strong defence was on full display during the fourth quarter of play, the lowest scoring quarter for the Gryphons, who were only able to grab seven points. Second-year forward Kate White said "we definitely did lock in our defence during the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. We were able to grab a lot of turnovers off of that." White went on to mention that the team was focused on improving their defensive play in today's game since they struggled at times the last time they faced the Gryphons.
The Golden Hawks were able to go on a seven point run, retake the lead and they were able to hold the lead till the end of the fourth, finishing the game with a final score of 61-59.
TOP PERFORMERS
Laurier Golden Hawks
#6 – Alexa Sawchuk
Sawchuk put on a strong performance during the game with both her offensive and defensive play. She was often seen in the right place at the right time and was always moving with intensity. Sawchuk recorded seven points, three rebounds, a steal, and a block.
Guelph Gryphons
#14 – Hannah Bourdon
Bourdon played a very tight game. She handled the defensive pressure from the Golden Hawks with ease and lead her team in points, scoring 19 in her 34 minutes of play.
UP NEXT
The Golden Hawks are on the road this coming Wednesday, November 29 to take on Toronto Metropolitan University at 6 p.m. Stream the game live on OUA.tv and follow @WLUAthletics for live updates.
