RECAP: Gee-Gees trounce Lions in quarterfinal, host Lakehead in semis
The Gee-Gees, who defeated the Lions in both matchups the teams had during the regular season, continued their strong play as they came away with a commanding 89-53 victory.
In quarterfinal action, the U SPORTS second-ranked Gee-Gees hosted the York Lions on Saturday afternoon with a spot in the OUA's Critelli Cup semifinals on the line. The Gee-Gees, who defeated the Lions in both matchups the teams had during the regular season, continued their strong play as they came away with a commanding 89-53 victory.
After an evenly played first quarter, the Gee-Gees dominated the second and third frames outscoring the Lions by a combined score of 51-9.
To start the second quarter, the Gee-Gees went on a 12-4 run and never looked back, due large part to excellent play from fifth-year forward Jennifer Crowe. Coming off the bench, Crowe scored 14 of her game high 17 total points in the second frame, jumpstarting the Gee-Gees' offence struggling to adjust to a physical defensive approach from the Lions.
"Jen Crowe was the difference maker," said Gee-Gees head coach Andy Sparks. "When she came on in the first half she became very aggressive and answered the tough style of basketball that they were trying to play."
The Gee-Gees used their fresh legs to their advantage throughout, after being awarded a bye in the first round of the playoffs. While the Lions looked fatigued after playing a tough game on Wednesday night against Queen's in the first round of OUA playoff action.
The Gee-Gees gave up just four total field goals in the second half as they held the Lions to 16 per cent shooting from the field, forcing them into 13 turnovers.
Along with Crowe, the Gee-Gees got big contributions from Brooklynn McAlear-Fanus, who finished with a 13 point and 12 rebound double-double, and Angela Ribarich who recorded 10 points, three rebounds, and two blocks.
Up next for the Gee-Gees will be a contest with the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Wednesday night at Montpetit Hall. The two teams matched up just once in the regular season with the Gee-Gees recording a convincing 83-55 victory on Nov. 16 in Ottawa. However after that game, the Thunderwolves have only lost three times, finishing with a 20-4 overall record.
Despite the lopsided victory early in the season, Sparks is not ready to look past the Thunderwolves.
"They have the top scorer and one of the toughest matchups in the province, plus some good perimeter shooting," he said. "They'll be a tough matchup for us. It's been one game at a time all year long, and we're still a couple games short of our ultimate goal, so we've got to be prepared for what comes next."
Tip-off at Montpetit Hall is set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday night. Tickets are available online at tickets.geegees.ca. For those unable to attend, the game will be streaming live on OUA.tv.