Our final two weekends of the season saw us travel to Toronto to take on U of T and Ryerson. On Friday night at U of T we put up a good fight against a strong, experienced Blues squad. We were down 3 after the first quarter and 11 at the half. They came out in the third quarter with tremendous defensive pressure and we struggled with turnovers. We bounced back with a big fourth quarter (scoring 21 points, very good for us) but wound up losing 69-51. We played well in many areas but turned the ball over too many times and got beat on the boards.
On Saturday we took on Ryerson in a game that I felt we had a chance to win. We were down 2 at half and wound up losing by seven. We never really got going and suffered from poor free throw shooting and foul trouble (Emma Decloe). Once again we allowed too many offensive rebounds.
Our last weekend of the season was at home vs RMC and Queen’s. We took care of RMC on Friday 61-43 in a scrappy, defensive battle. Our depth and defensive pressure was too much for them even though we never really got going offensively. Saturday night saw us take on Queen’s who we matched up with very well. Unfortunately we got off to a disastrous start and wound up down 20-9 after the first quarter. That essentially was the ball game as we wound up losing by 6, 64-58. On a high note, Emma Decloe had a career game, scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against some very aggressive defenders. She really came on the second half of the season, and has come to understand how good she can be.
Our last four games were bittersweet as we have obviously really improved, but were only able to come away with one win. I felt that we could have gone 3 and 1 and the two close losses were a disappointment. These are growing pains with a young squad, but we need to take these lessons to heart and come back a better team next year.
On Friday night we matched up with our OUA East travel partner, York. I felt our first game against York was our worst effort since Christmas time and I was looking at this one as a game we could win. The game started off well, but then both teams ground to a halt offensively and we led 9-7 after the first frame. York switched to a zone and for some reason, we got really tight and had a horrible second quarter to trail 24-15 at the half. We regrouped in the locker room and started to attack their zone properly in the second half, pulling to within one point at after three. The game went back and forth until the end. We missed two free throws down one in the last minute and then they missed two which could have put them up three. We rebounded the missed free throw and Erin Simpson got a tough runner off at the buzzer which rimmed out. Final score York 50 – LU 49. It was a really disappointing loss as we played so poorly in the first half. We are still at the stage where unexpected changes throw us off for way too long. Emma Decloe really got on track in the second half and finished with 20 pts (career high) and 14 rebounds. She has struggled with consistency, but is beginning to realize her potential. Erin Simpson was in double figures again with 11 points. We are on the road again this weekend as we head back to Toronto for match ups with U of T and Ryerson.
After returning from Kingston we entered a tough stretch of the schedule with 3 of our next 4 games against teams ranked in the Top 10. On Friday we hosted U of T (#10 CIS) and knew we would be in for a challenge. The first quarter wasn’t pretty as we made some defensive mistakes and didn’t execute offensively. As a result we trailed 22-7. We bounced back in the second quarter but still trailed by 14 at the half. The third quarter was excellent as our press gave them problems and we cut the lead to 5 going into the final frame. They cranked up the pressure defence and we buckled, eventually losing 68-49. Overall a good effort against a good team, but we can’t afford to give away quarters, especially with how we struggle to score.
Saturday night saw us host Ryerson in a game I felt that we had a chance to win. Ryerson has three outstanding players but we have more size and depth and I was hoping we could wear them down. A weak second quarter saw us trailing by 6 at half but we re-grouped and were leading by 4 after three quarters. Early in the fourth we went up by 7 and were rolling when they went on a lightning quick 9-0 run. We battled back and had the ball for the last shot. Erin Simpson put up a 3 that rattled out so we were off to overtime. The extra period was back and forth and we had the last possession where we executed perfectly but missed a layup to win the game. Final score 64-63 for Ryerson. I was very disappointed for the girls as they deserved the win. Erin Simpson had an excellent game with 23 points that included some big shots down the stretch.
The following weekend saw us travel to Ottawa to take on Ottawa U (#5 CIS) and Carleton (#6 CIS). Playing such good teams back to back on the road is more than we can handle right now. We played hard but took two lopsided losses. Emma Decloe was a bright spot scoring 14 against Ottawa’s 5th year (and very, very good) post players. Overall, we are able to compete in any given area of the game for a time with teams like this, but over time, the mistakes add up. You can’t miss box outs, waste dribbles, blow rotations etc and hope to have a chance to win. We are definitely improving and hope to see some wins over the last few weeks of the season.
After the New Year we jumped back into action with 5 games in 9 days. We opened at home with the incredibly tough double header of Ottawa and Carleton (#4 and #7 in the CIS respectively). Both games saw us compete at the defensive end and on the glass, but really struggle to score which was our downfall. On the wednesday we hosted York, a team I think we should have matched up well with, and the game was a disappointment. We were flat defensively and really tentative at the offensive end and as a result, we suffered a bad loss. As the old saying goes, “there is no rest for the weary” and on Thursday we jumped on the bus and headed for Kingston to play Queen’s and RMC. Queen’s has been very tough at home this year and with very little prep time, I was worried about this game. It turned out to be one of our better efforts of the season as we bounced back from a poor first quarter and were in the game until late. We closed their lead to 5 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t come all the way back and wound up losing by 14. On Saturday afternoon we had RMC who was coming off a heartbreaking 4 point loss to York the night before. We cranked up the defence, held their leading scorer to 2 points and held the team to 12 second half points to escape with a 20 point win. Overall, we are making strides defensively, with our press and on the boards andare slowly but surely improving our offence. We are beginning to move the ball well and exploit mismatches, but until we finish better and knock down shots, we are going to struggle to put points on the board. Things don’t get much easier as we host Toronto (#10 CIS) and a scrappy Ryerson team this weekend. I hope to see
After the Fall OUA schedule wrapped up in December, we practiced during the last week of classes and then took a week off so the girls could prepare for and write their exams. We were able to practice periodically and while attendance was optional, we had a good turnout every time. In addition to the current players, we were happy to welcome Katie Goggins at a couple of practices. Katie really enjoyed herself and added some words of encouragement and wisdom as well as her basketball ability. It was great to have her out and made me even more aware oof how much I miss her.
When exams ended we celebrated with our annual Christmas party at my house. We feasted on turkey and once again, the girls came up with some wonderfully creative presents for the coaching staff. We were able to practice a few times before leaving for a pre-Christmas tournament at Daemen College in Amherst NY (just North of Buffalo).
Roberts Wesleyan College 77 – Laurentian 60
Our first game in the Daemen Tournament was against Roberts Wesleyan College and they were a tough test. Roberts is a well balanced, veteran squad and they were able to attack us from both the inside and behind the 3pt line. We played them even for much of the game, but suffered a 3-4 minute lapse in each half which was the difference. We were down 10 at half time and lost the second half by 7. The good news is that we have definitely learned and improved over the first semester, while the bad news is that we can still have mental lapses which really hurt us on the scoreboard. Our two best players were Emma Decloe and Erin Simpson. Emma had 16 points (career high) and a game high 9 rebounds. She was finally being aggressive offensively and her athleticism was really evident when she was attacking the rim and rebounding. Erin scored a game high 20 points (6-12 3pt shots), had 5 rebounds and 2 assists with 0 turnovers.
Daemen 75 – Laurentian 53
Our second game was against the host, Daemen College, who is a traditionally strong team. We got off to a slow start at the offensive end and that was really the difference in the game. We created a number of very good shots but didn’t convert and as a result were down 16 at the half. We made a couple of runs in the second half but couldn’t consistently chip away. Emma Decloe had another excellent game, 12 pts 9 rebs, but unfortunately was limited to 20 minutes due to foul trouble. Amanda McDonald was also a standout with 15 pts (2-3 from 3pts) and four rebounds while playing strong defense.
Overall, we looked really good at times, but we need to finish better, rebound harder and avoid the lapses in concentration that are hurting us. We get back to action in the OUA at home January 6 (Ottawa) and January 7 (Carleton) and I look forward to seeing everyone there. Happy New Year!
Our final weekend of OUA play before Exam/Christmas break saw Guelph and Lakehead come to town. The Friday night game against Guelph was one we would love to forget. The first half was sloppy as we never got going offensively, but our zone kept them off balance and we went into half-time trailing by 12. The second half was a total disaster. We couldn’t do anything right, offensively or defensively. It was really disappointing that we came unravelled like that, and hopefully we can learn from the experience and re-group when things start to go bad.
Saturday night featured a match-up with Lakehead and I was hoping we could get back on track after the Guelph game. I felt like Lakehead was a team we could defend and the challenge was going to be getting our offense going. It was a close game all the way through, but once again, we struggled to score. We executed much better and created a lot of quality shots, but we shot poorly from the perimeter and didn’t finish inside. I liked a lot of what we did against Lakehead but overall, it was a disappointing weekend that didn’t reflect the hard work we have put in this semester
We have a bit of a break now for exams but will get back together for a mini training camp and head down to New York State for a tournament before Christmas.
Our third weekend of OUA play took us to Waterloo for match-ups with Laurier and Waterloo. First up was Laurier, a young team that I think we match up well with. We felt our zone would give them some problems and it did. Unfortunately, we really struggled to score. We are still struggling with confidence at the offensive end of the floor and it was evident versus Laurier. Too many people were giving up shots and there was a lot of standing around and late shot clock one on one. Sometimes being too unselfish can be a bad thing. The game was within reach for a while, but eventually, when you don’t score, the other team will pull away. We wound up losing 57-33.
Saturday’s match-up was Waterloo, a young, scrappy team that has been playing people close at home. We felt we could get a lot of stops as they don’t shoot the ball very well, but their tempo and energy could hurt us. The game turned out to be a real nail-biter. We were up by 12-14 early and it looked like we were rolling, but then we missed some easy looks and free throws, letting them back in the game. Our execution was much better than the night before, but we didn’t finish well and the game went back and forth until late in the fourth quarter. What saved us was that our defense was very solid and they were never able to go on a run. We kept running our offense and Erin Simpson made some huge shots down the stretch to take it away from them. We won 57-51. The biggest problem with a young team is consistency and on Saturday it came in free throw shooting. We had been doing a very good job in that department but missed 17 free throws against Waterloo.
Overall, winning on the road in the OUA is very tough (as results from around the conference so far this season can attest), especially for young teams. We felt that we could get at least a split this weekend and we did. It wasn’t pretty but we are learning what it takes to win. We have a home weekend against Guelph and Lakehead coming up and are hoping to get to the .500 mark with a sweep.
Our second league weekend saw Brock and Mac come to town. We had excellent fan support both nights and were able to come up with an improved performance, especially on Saturday night.
On Friday we took on Brock who is playing very well and is ranked in the Top 10. We felt we matched up well and while we did some good things defensively, once again there were too many mistakes. We turned the ball over too many times and that gave Brock some easy scores. We stopped rebounding in the 3rd quarter and they eventually pulled away to win 77-46.
McMaster, our Saturday opponent, was another team that we felt we could match up with. Our main message to the girls was that we needed a sense of urgency for the entire 40 minutes. Stop playing like a team afraid of mistakes and play like a team desperate to win. We came up with a simplified offensive game plan that was just what the doctor ordered. We were patient offensively, limited our turnovers, played sticky defense and dominated the boards. It was close in the 2nd quarter but we were in control for most of the game and came away with a 55-44 win. It was our best game this year and I’m hoping we can build some momentum from this performance. We are on the road this week taking on Laurier and Waterloo.
Our OUA season kicked off with a very tough road trip to Windsor and London. Friday night saw us match up with the defending CIS Champion Lancers on a evening when they were presented with their rings and raised their championship banner. The atmosphere of the pre-game ceremony (which took forever btw) was inspiring, but I think it really distracted us, and unfortunately, we needed to be very sharp against a team like Windsor.
The first quarter was fairly close as Windsor struggled with our zone for a while and our press slowed down their transition game. We weren’t able to capitalize however, and trailed 17-11 after the first quarter. As is usually the case with great teams though, they regrouped, cranked up their defense, and we began to break down mentally. There weren’t too many positives for us during the rest of the game, although Rebecca Goodier and rookie point guard Danielle Harris both gave us some solid play off the bench. The final score 76-32 Windsor, shows what can happen on the road when facing a top opponent without being confidant and focused.
On Saturday we travelled to London to face off with a talented Western Mustangs squad that features a who’s who of our Junior National and Cadet Teams from recent years. In some ways this was a good match-up for us, but Western can really shoot the ball and score quickly, and we are still making too many mistakes at the defensive end of the court to have a chance. Rebecca Goodier again stood out in the 81-55 loss and Erin Simpson led us with 10 points.
We host our first home games of the season this weekend when the Brock Badgers (ranked #9 in the CIS) visit Friday, and the McMaster Marauders come to town Saturday.
This past weekend we travelled to Sault Ste Marie for a game with Lake Superior State, an NCAA Division II school. It is always tough to play American teams on their home turf so we knew we would be in for a battle. We got off to a slow start offensively as nothing would fall early, but hung on as our press started to give them problems. We were down eight with about three and a half minutes left in the first half, but unfortunately we blew a few good chances to score and they went on a ten to two run to lead by sixteen at the break. The second half was back and forth as both teams started to make shots, but we couldn’t really claw back and lost the second half forty to thirty six. We showed a lot of good things, particularly with our press, but we made too many mistakes to have a chance to win. Emma Decloe and Mary Scott played well, both scoring ten points and getting a number of steals which was encouraging. Danielle Harris and Devenae Bryce, both rookies, gave us a real energy boost off the bench as they continued to establish themselves as solid contributors. Things don’t get any easier for us as we travel to Windsor to take on the defending CIS Champion Lancers (currently ranked #2 in the CIS) on Friday night and the deep and talented Western Mustangs on Saturday. We’ll see how much we have learned in the pre-season and hopefully be able to surprise these strong teams.