Sudbury provides road block

Ben Orr

Silhouette Staff

The Marauders’ young season has been inconsistent to say the least.

Still, after splitting another weekend's games, the McMaster women's basketball team sits at 2-2, good for a tie for fifth place in the OUA West division. The Maroon and Grey pounced on the York Lions on Nov. 18 before tripping up against the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury the following day.

The Marauders started strong in Toronto, outscoring the Lions 12-7 in the first quarter and controlling the court behind the strong play of sophomore guard Katie Knight.

York proved resilient however, clawing back to tie the game at 26 heading into halftime on the back of Hayley Flinn, who led the Lions with a game-high 14 points.

McMaster was not to be denied in the second half, though, slashing their way to 24 points in the third quarter alone. Knight would lead the Marauders by totaling 14 points and veteran Taylor Chariot continued her impressive campaign by adding 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Marauders would cruise to a dominating 66-51 win. The victory saw the team briefly rise above .500 for the first time this season, but the jubilation would be short lived, as disappointment would meet them in Sudbury.

The Maroon and Grey appeared to have cement in their sneakers during the opening quarter against the previously 0-3 Voyageurs, falling behind 17-6.

The veteran Chariot took matters into her own hands in the second quarter, leading her squad back. The Marauders would take a 26-25 lead into halftime after a spirited fight-back.

Unfortunately for the Maroon and Grey, their momentum would be short-lived, as the visitors came out flat from the locker room once again. Laurentian would outscore the Marauders 19-10 in the third quarter and would not look back.

After a strong defensive effort in the last period, the Voyageurs would claim their first win of the season at their visitors’ expense.

Chariot led McMaster with a game-high 15 points. Alyska Lukan would add nine points and six rebounds as well, but it would not be enough in the face of their opponents’ balanced attack. Three Voyageurs would reach double digits in scoring en route to the upset.

Looking to move up the OUA West ranks, the Marauder women will travel to Kingston this coming weekend to play the Queen's Gaels and RMC Paladins on Nov. 25 and 26 respectively.

Elsewhere in OUA action, Carleton completed a stunning comeback in the final ten seconds to beat the Western Mustangs 72-71. The nationally ranked Windsor Lancers fell in Ottawa to the upstart Gee-Gees and the Brock Badgers continued to roll, winning their weekends games by a combined score of 70 points.

Four OUA teams are currently ranked in the CIS Top Ten, as Windsor and Carleton are ranked third and fourth, respectively. Regina and UBC continue to lead the standings. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Cape Breton, Brock, Acadia and Toronto round out the top ten.

Tyler Hayward