Recap: #5 Gee-Gees take down #3 McMaster in battle of the OUA’s best

In a rematch of last year's OUA semi-final thriller, the U SPORTS #5 Gee-Gees women's basketball team powered to a 74-60 win over the #3 McMaster Marauders on Friday at Montpetit Hall.

The game got off to a slow start with both teams showing why they rank near the top of the country in various defensive stat categories. The Marauders were held to just 23.8 percent from the field, while the Gee-Gees were forced into six of their nine first half turnovers in the opening quarter. As a result, the Gee-Gees took a slim 16-12 lead into the first break.

The game opened up more in the second quarter, thanks to a perfect three-for-three shooting from deep by third-year guard Amélie Hachey, the OUA leader in three point shooting percentage at 53.3%. The game remained tight though, until the Gee-Gees exploded for eight straight points in a fast-paced final two minutes of the half.  The Gee-Gees held a 40-30 lead heading into the locker room. Key throughout the first half, was a 15-4 advantage the Gee-Gees had in bench scoring, which included three players scoring five points each.

The Gee-Gees picked up right where they left off in the second half, as they were able to open the third quarter on a 6-0 run by forcing the Marauders into three straight turnovers on their opening possessions. Even though the offence slowed down in the fourth quarter as McMaster tried to mount a furious comeback, the Gee-Gees were able to hold a desperate Marauders team to just 36.8 percent from the field, which was key for Gee-Gees head coach Andy Sparks.

"We have a lot of people who take great pride on the defensive end of the floor," said Sparks. "They trust each other and it shows with how we've been playing."

Despite putting up a game high 17 points and 12 rebounds in the win, fourth-year centre Angela Ribarich was quick to deflect any praise upon herself.

"We just went back to the easy things because that's what gets us points, and it just happened to be me tonight," she said.

"We go into every game with the mindset that we can win, beating a good team like this is great, but we have to treat it as the same as any other."

Other notable performers for the Gee-Gees were second-year forward Brigitte Lefenvre-Okankwu, who finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, fifth-year forward Jennifer Crowe continues to contribute in her first-off-the-bench role with a balanced eight points and seven rebounds.

The Gee-Gees look to push their winning streak to seven as they take on the Brock Badgers on Saturday night at Montpetit Hall. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m and will be streaming live on OUA.tv.