Windsor, Ont. – The Laurier Golden Hawks took to the road this past Saturday to take on the Windsor Lancers. The Golden Hawks and the Lancers battled all afternoon but the purple and gold fell short in the last quarter and were not able to catch up to the Lancers lead, losing their second game of the season 61-79.
Going into the match up manager of women's basketball operations and head coach Paul Falco knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle and knew his team would have to be firing on all cylinders to beat the Lancers, who finished third in the 2022 OUA west division.
From tip off, the two teams were exchanging baskets. Windsor's Reine Ndome hit a three pointer to open the scoring of the game. Laurier's Kate White didn't let the Lancers lead for long, hitting a three point jump shot just seconds after Ndome. The two teams continued to battle, finishing the first quarter with a Lancers lead of 24-22 and finishing the second with the Lancers still ahead narrowly, 40-38.
Coming into the second half the Golden Hawks were hungry. Veteran players Cassidy Hirtle and Miranda Campbell were seen making big offensive and defensive plays while Maddy White and Janet Enge were seen splashing three pointers and landing layups.
Despite the good performance, the Golden Hawks had begun to fall behind and were struggling to grab rebounds away from Windsor's Kali Grootenbeor. The Golden Hawks were unable to recover and lost the game 61-79, meaning the Lancers earned their second win of the 2023 season while the Golden Hawks received their second loss.
TOP PERFORMERS
Laurier Golden Hawks
#7 – Cassidy Hirtle
There is no denying that Cassidy Hirtle is a force to be reckoned with on the court. Knocking in 14 points, while also grabbing 5 offensive and 5 defensive rebounds, Hirtle was the highest scoring Golden Hawk in the game as well as the second-highest scoring player in the match. Dominant and confident while playing, she is a strong support for all players on her team.
Windsor Lancers
#23 – Kali Grootenbeor
Grootenbeor was a complete menace, grabbing boards left, right, and centre. Hitting 19 points made Kali the highest scoring player of the game, her 8 offensive and 6 defensive rebounds made her a complete powerhouse as she banked shot after shot with ease.
UP NEXT
This coming weekend the Golden Hawks will on the road to face the Algoma Thunderbirds in back-to-back games in Sault Ste. Marie. Follow @WLUAthletics for live updates and tune into OUA.tv to stream the game live.
