Weekend Recap: #5 Gee-Gees continue to roll against Nipissing and Laurentian

After having their 10 game winning streak broken last Saturday, the U SPORTS fifth-ranked Gee-Gees women's basketball team was able to get back to their winning ways by defeating the Nipissing Lakers and the Laurentian Voyageurs in convincing fashion over the weekend. 

The Gee-Gees came out firing in the first half on Friday night against the Nipissing Lakers as they took 50-28 into the halftime break and never looked back finishing with a 78-47 victory.

Much as they have done all season, the Gee-Gees relied on their scoring depth and ball movement on the offensive end of the floor to build their lead, as they had five players reach double-digits in scoring and recorded 18 total assists as a team.

Among those five players who scored in double digits was fifth-year guard Sarah Besselink who led all Gee-Gees with 20 points on 8-14 shooting, including 4-8 from behind the three-point line. After missing all of last season with a knee injury, Besselink has caught fire of late as she has scored 15 or more points in 5 of the last 6 games the team has played.

After upsetting the seventh-ranked Carleton Ravens on Friday night, the Laurentian Voyageurs came looking for a similar result on Saturday night against the Gee-Gees and even led at various points throughout the first quarter.

However, in the second quarter the Gee-Gees showed why they have been one of the top teams in the country so far this season, as they outscored the Voyageurs 31-5. In that game-defining second quarter the Gee-Gees gave up just one field goal and forced the Voyageurs into six turnovers, while shooting a blistering 66.7% from the field.

The Gee-Gees continued their excellent play in the second half and got several of their young players into the game for some valuable minutes, cruising to an 86-61 victory. Leading the way for the Gee-Gees all night was the dominating inside presence from forwards Angela Ribarich and Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu. Ribarich finished the game with 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, while Lefebvre-Okankwu tallied 23 points and six rebounds off of the bench. Amélie Hachey, who has been among the top three-point shooters in the country this season, poured in 17 points including going 5-8 from behind the arc.

The Gee-Gees return home this weekend for the first time since November as they host the York Lions and the Queen's Gaels. Both games tip-off at 6 pm at Montpetit Hall and will be streaming live on OUA.tv.