RECAP: Gee-Gees fall to Rams in double-header, prepare for Carleton rematch

The Gee-Gees women's basketball team lost two tightly contested matchups against the Rams on Friday and Saturday at Montpetit Hall. 

On Friday, the two teams battled throughout, with the game ultimately coming down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter with the Rams clinching a 51-50 win. Clutch shooting from Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu and Natsuki Szczokin had the Gee-Gees reclaim the lead from the Rams in the final minute, but were unable secure the win.

The turning point came in the final sequence where Ottawa came up with a key defensive rebound to control the game with six seconds remaining. A quick offensive foul gave the Rams' Mikaela Dodig enough time to drive to the basket and score for the win.

Overall, Lefebvre-Okankwu led the way for the Gee-Gees with a 13-point and 11-rebound double-double performance, Szczokin added 11 points and four rebounds, while Oksana Gouchie-Provencher had 10 rebounds and 4 assists off the bench.

Lefebvre-Okankwu made history once again for the Gee-Gees in the game, as she passed Brigitte passed two-time All-Canadian Stella Ighorewo to move into second place in Gee-Gees all-time scoring with 1,044 points in her career.

On Saturday, it was more of the same from the two teams with the Rams securing a tough 51-43 victory to remain undefeated on the season.

There were seven ties in the matchup where neither team had much offensive rhythm throughout. Despite heavily outrebounding their opponent 46-31, Ottawa's 20 turnovers and ensuing 19 points off of them were a key difference maker.

In all, the Gee-Gees tied for their second-most sparse offensive output on the season, something they will hope to rectify against the Ravens on Wednesday.

Lefebvre-Okankwu and Szczokin tied for leading scorer on the night, each scoring 11 points.  Lefebvre-Okankwu added a tied season-high 14 rebounds, while Szczokin added six rebounds.

"I think we improved this weekend and took a step forward. Our defence was good, we kept the number one team in the country to 51 points both games," said Gee-Gees interim head coach Rose-Anne Joly. "It proves that we can do it and what happened last Friday [against Carleton] is not who we are. We're going to show up on Wednesday."

Up next, the Gee-Gees will host their crosstown rivals, the Carleton Ravens in the Bytown Battle at Montpetit Hall on Wednesday, March 2 at 5 p.m. Tickets are available at tickets.geegees.ca and the game will be streaming live on OUA.tv.