Women's basketball struggles to close

McMaster has slid into a two-game losing streak by a combined four points. They have been handed defeat with 2.2 seconds left and then at the buzzer. The fourth quarter is the women’s basketball team’s biggest nemesis – and it could cost them their season.

The Marauders are reeling right now, losing by one point to the second place Laurier Golden Hawks and then losing to the second-to-last Guelph Gryphons on a desperation three-point heave as time expired. While there is a conversation to be had about the legitimacy of the call at the end of the Laurier game that put guard Lee Anna Osei at the line for two free throws, Mac had a shot to win that game and let it slip away. Head coach Theresa Burns will not blame the officiating, she says that the team simply lacks execution at crucial moments. When asked what was going through her head when the whistle blew to give Osei free throws, Burns paused for nearly ten seconds before expressing her concerns.

“Just total frustration with how the last five or six minutes were played on our part. The calls compounded the frustration. We just don’t seem to be able to close out close games. Until we can do that, we are not going to beat top-ten teams,” said Burns.

That conversation happened before McMaster suffered the likely dagger in their hopes for the No. 2 seed in the OUA West against Guelph. With the Gryphons looking to score a bucket to put themselves up four, Hailey Milligan tipped away the ball and forced a turnover. After a flurry of passes, Danielle Boiago went to her right hand and pulled up to nail a jumper that tied the game with exactly one second left.

With the Boiago shot, the narrative of clutch issues was on its deathbed. Mac could force overtime and get a win in a game they were largely outplayed. But Gryphon Marlee Freeman banked in a leaning three-pointer from five feet beyond the line to claim the walk-off victory. With the buzzer-beater, the narrative was alive and well.

Burns shakes her head when discussing the execution issues, trying to peg why her team is losing.

“We just have had too many of these games. We are not accountable enough; there are shots that you have to hit, there are fouls that you cannot take, there are turnovers you cannot have. There are individuals who are not holding themselves accountable,” Burns said.

Accountability aside, Burns named other issues plaguing the team in the fourth quarter. The problem of secondary scoring lingers, players are not taking shots with any confidence, and the team is hesitating instead of just playing.

Coming out of the winter break, the team looked like they had the secondary scoring to compete and make a run for the OUA title. McMaster played the University of Saskatchewan and Saint Mary’s University very tough and ripped off a win over Brock University. Now, at 8-6 with five games remaining, the All-Canadian level play of fifth-year Milligan is looking like it will be an effort that is all-for-naught, and the veteran-laden core will walk away from the Maroon and Grey with a disappointing final campaign.

In 2012-13, McMaster “peaked at the right time”, according to Burns, catching fire at the end of the season and going into the playoffs with all of the momentum. This year, the Marauders are faltering in January and heading into a double-header on the road against Lakehead University, who have surged in the new year and look poised to make a run into playoffs. A season that started with so much promise is coming undone at the end, a perfect anecdote for McMaster’s problems with the fourth quarter.