Having won 13 of their last 14 OUA games, the team has successfully made their way into the national top 10 rankings
By: Ramiz Khan, Contributor
The McMaster University women's basketball team is making a strong case for the title of the Ontario University Athletics Central division with a commanding 14 and four record on the year. They've now won 13 out of their last 14 games regular season games, taking down several top teams along the way, including the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold, the Brock University Badgers and the Western University Mustangs.
The secret to the team success lies in the dynamic play of forward Sarah Gates, who leads the entire country with a whopping average of 26.1 points per game. The team defense has also been a force to be reckoned with, allowing just 62.1 opponent points per game.
As the regular season nears its end with only a few games remaining, the team is gearing up for a deep playoff run. They hope to match the glory of their 2019 national championship season in what will be the final year for several players who were on that 2019 roster.
With a fairly comfortable lead in the division and a roster filled with talented players, the team looks poised for another deep run come playoff season. After starting the season with three losses and only one win, they managed to completely flip the script, putting themselves in a position for success.
“I think just working together and sticking through it as a unit. We play our best basketball and we're all having fun and making the most of our connections on the team, and it really shows, and that's what we've been doing, so it's been pretty awesome,” said Cassie Joli-Couer, a forward for the team.
“I think just working together and sticking through it as a unit. We play our best basketball and we're all having fun and making the most of our connections on the team, and it really shows, and that's what we've been doing, so it's been pretty awesome.”
Cassie Joli-Couer, Women's Basketball Team
Having now won nine games in a row, tying the Carleton University Ravens for the longest active streak in the OUA, the team has been rolling. Though there were several potential turning points for the team to prove themselves as a threat, one of the biggest came against the Brock Badgers on Jan. 18.
The Badgers, a traditionally strong team who currently hold a record of 10 wins and eight losses, ended the Marauders season last year. In their first rematch on Nov. 19, the Marauders won by a final tally of 66 to 53, but their second matchup was the game to watch as McMaster blew them out by a final score of 71 to 49.
“That was a great team win. We definitely had a little bit of a grudge, I would say, from last year that we were going in for the win no matter what. I think it was just another win to add to the books, and we're going to keep working hard and move forward. . . We're just going to keep working hard,” explained Joli-Couer.
The team holds a great mix of talent to really keep the flow of play moving over the course of the season. One can look to the league stats leaders to find players like Sarah Gates leading the league in PPG, to Deanna Mataseje and Jenna Button leading in assist to turnover ratio or Mia Spadafora leading the OUA in three point percentage, shooting nearly five percent more efficiently then the next closest player. However, the team dynamic stems much further than that.
“When we work together and we're creating opportunities for one another, we're scoring more often, and it's like translating into wins and better stat lines. There's always room for improvement,” said Joli-Couer.
With just one more win, McMaster can clinch a division title. They’ll take on the University of Toronto University Varsity Blues on Feb. 10 and Feb. 18, the TMU Bold on Feb. 11 and the Waterloo University Warriors on Feb. 17. The Bold sit second in the central division, while the Warriors lead the west. The Varsity Blues haven’t had the same kind of success, with a record of four wins and 15 losses so far.
The playoffs are set to begin on Feb. 22.
McMaster University’s tennis teams wrapped up their Ontario University Athletics season at the beginning of the Reading Week. After a hard fought battle, both the men’s and the women’s teams finished in fourth place. In the bronze medal match, the men’s team lost to the York University Lions 7-0, while the women lost to the Lions 6-1.
[spacer height="20px"]For fifth-year women’s team member Priti Gujadhur, getting to this point has been a journey in itself. First starting playing tennis thanks to her father who loved the sport, she has had a love-hate relationship with it ever since. She did love it enough to look into the team prior to coming to McMaster.
“I had a friend who went to Mac and was on the team, so I reached out to the coach Peter [Patiakas] prior to my entry,” said Gujadhur.
After visiting McMaster and meeting with women’s head coach Patiakas, she knew this was the school she wanted to play for but was not too sure what she wanted academically.
“I walked into my first year and I just felt really lost,” said Gujadhur. “I knew that I loved to play sports, but coming into school I didn't have any focus in terms of academics.”
One undergraduate degree in political science and a post-grad degree in sports business management later, she has finally found solace in her master’s degree: international relations.
Looking back, Gujadhur knowns now that she did not need to have all the answers right away.
“If I could go back and tell my first-year self one thing, it would be to just enjoy the process and to have fun playing tennis,” said Gujadhur. “I feel like because I always wanted to win so bad, I forgot that I was so lucky and privileged to play on a university team. There are so many people who play sports, and get injured and are never going to play again. So I’d tell myself to just be humble and enjoy the ride.”
As a master’s student, this past OUA finals was Gujadhur’s last one, and it is still such a surreal feeling for her. Though it may not have ended in the result she wanted, Gujadhur’s and the team’s improvement from last year’s OUA finals is something she is pleased with.
“This is our best finish in a long time, so that in itself is a big accomplishment,” said Gujadhur. “Finishing fourth was something to be really proud of because we have a lot of young really talented players on the team, and they're just going to continue to develop and get better.”
These young players include first-years Julia Schuster, Adele Lee and Maya Emerson, who all contributed in the team's efforts. During their singles matches on the first day, Emerson won her three-set match (2-6, 6-4, 6-1), while Gujadhur and Lee both beat their opponents handedly, both shutting out their opponent 6-0. The three helped once again to win their doubles matches, as Gujadhur and Schuster won their match 8-6, while Emerson and Lee defeated their opponents 8-1.
“The fact that they came on to a university team and won so many matches is something to be super proud of,” said Gujadhur.
Unfortunately, the young team did not have what it took to go all the way to the top. Dropping their semi-final and bronze medal matches, they had to settle for fourth place.
“As a team, obviously we were a little disappointed that it wasn't the result that we wanted, but I think we can still hold our heads up high and take the positives away from the weekend,” Gujadhur said.
Tennis -- Both Marauders tennis teams came away from the OUA Championships in Markham with fourth-placed finishes, having advanced to the medal rounds with wins over Carleton and Brock.https://t.co/Z2Sftk0l2j
— McMaster Athletics (@McMasterSports) October 8, 2018
“Now that it is all coming to an end, it really doesn't feel real yet,” Gujadhur added. “I'm a really competitive person, so [tennis] was almost like a release for me. Though we do have another shot at the national qualifier coming up in November.”
These nationals are sanctioned by Tennis Canada, and will take place on Nov. 16-18. Both the men’s and women’s team will have another shot at getting to the podium. After this, that will be the end of university tennis for Gujadhur, but she has no plans on putting down her racket just yet.
“Tennis really gets on my competitive side and because I'm such a competitive person it has always been like a release for me,” said Gujadhur.
Luckily for her, tennis is one of those sports that she does not have to put down after her eligibility is up, and as of now, she has no plans to stop.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
