Courtesy: Winston ChowDay 2 Schedule:
1:00 p.m. - Brock 79 vs. Toronto 57
3:00 p.m. - Ryerson 40 vs. McMaster 79
5:30 p.m. - UNB 76 vs. UBC 60
7:30 p.m. - Laval 45 vs. Saskatchewan 52
TORONTO - Day one of the Darcel Wright Memorial Classic provided lots of exciting action for basketball fans at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. The UNB Varsity Reds, UBC Thunderbirds, Laval Rouge et Or, and Saskatchewan Huskies were all victorious in their first games, advancing them through to the championship side of the bracket.
See bottom of the page for boxscores from each game.
Game 1: UNB 65, Brock 62
In what was a tight game right from tip off to the final whistle, the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds won their first game at the Darcel Wright Memorial Classic tournament, defeating the Brock Badgers 65-62.
UNB outscored the Badgers in each of the first three quarters and were able to hold off a surging Brock club in the fourth to secure the victory.
Brock's Nicole Rosenkranz (Niagara Falls, Ont.) opened the scoring in the early going but both teams used strong defensive pressure to keep the first quarter a low scoring affair.
The Reds' Claire Colborne (Calgary, Alta.) had seven points in the first frame to help UNB earn a 13-12 advantage after ten minutes.
The Badgers opened the second frame on a 6-2 run on the strength of strong play from Rosenkranz down low and by utilizing their outlet passes to lead them into transition. Three minutes into the quarter, the Badgers held an 18-15 lead. UNB responded with a run of their own at the end of the frame, turning a 23-22 deficit with 2:30 remaining on the clock into a 29-23 lead at half time.
Samantha deJong (St. Catharines, Ont.) started the third quarter off strong for the Badgers, using her size to help Brock narrow the gap to a 31-29 score just two minutes into the quarter. UNB was unfazed by the Badgers and regained their six point advantage, holding a 39-33 lead. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter and the Varsity Reds held a 45-37 lead at the break.
The Badgers made a game of it in the final frame, outscoring the Reds by seven, but were unable to complete the comeback. Brock's strong free throw shooting helped close the gap in the fourth, finishing the game 17-20 from the line. UNB finished just 14-31 from the charity stripe.
UNB's Colborne finished with a double-double, collecting game-highs with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Rosenkranz finished with 20 points and a team-high six rebounds for the Badgers.
Game 2: UBC 65, Toronto 61
In what appeared to be a lopsided affair early on, the UBC Thunderbirds and Toronto Varsity Blues played an entertaining match in game two of the Darcel Wright Memorial Classic. After a tough 40 minutes, UBC came away with a 65-61 victory to advance to the championship side of the tournament bracket.
Toronto opened the scoring with the first two baskets of the game to take a 4-0 lead but the Varsity Blues offence fell into an eight minute drought which UBC used to their full advantage. At the end of the first quarter, the Thunderbirds had built a 17-8 lead.
UBC extended their lead when they scored the first seven points of the second quarter. Toronto didn't get on the board until three minutes into the frame when Jill Stratton (Etobicoke, Ont.) nailed a step-back jumper.
The entire flow of the game changed with four minutes remaining in the second quarter when Toronto made a defensive change, switching to a zone structure. Within the next two minutes UBC committed several turnovers and the Varsity Blues' offence woke up.
Stratton, Jasmine Lewin (Brampton, Ont.) and Julie Longauer (Whitby, Ont.) drained back to back to back baskets for the Blues, closing the deficit to just ten and forcing a UBC time out. The break in action could not slow down the Blues as Stratton nailed back to back three pointers to pull the Blues within four. UBC's Maggie Sundberg (Mansfield, CT) hit a buzzer beater to give the Thunderbirds a six point advantage, 33-27, heading into the half.
Toronto came out firing in the third quarter as well, collecting the first seven points of the frame to take a 34-33 lead, their first since the opening minutes of the game. The Blues remained in their zone defence but UBC began hitting their perimeter shots and took a 39-38 advantage with 5:30 remaining in the quarter. After Toronto regained the lead at 40-39, UBC scored the next ten points to take a 49-40 lead and never looked back.
The Thunderbirds held a 51-43 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Blues would make it a five point game at 55-50 with six minutes remaining in the fourth but fell victim to another scoring drought, allowing UBC to open up a 14 point lead at 65-51 with three minutes remaining. Toronto would close the game on a ten point run, but could not catch the Thunderbirds who took the 65-61 victory.
Kris Young (North Vancouver, B.C.) led the Thunderbirds with 16 points while Sundberg added 13. Victoria Spangehl (White Rock, B.C.) had a team-high eight rebounds for UBC.
Toronto's Rachael Sider (New Westminister, B.C.) netted a game-high 18 points and collected 12 rebounds in 32 minutes of play. Lewin added 13 points while Stratton had 11 in the loss.
Game 3: Laval 81, Ryerson 49
The Laval Rouge et Or assured themselves a spot on the championship side of the bracket after a dominant 81-49 victory over the host Ryerson Rams.
Laval started the game on a 12-0 run and looked like they could run away with things early but Ryerson countered with a 10-0 run of their own to make it a two point game with 2:20 remaining in the quarter. The teams traded baskets to close the scoring in the first with Laval holding a 16-12 advantage.
Strong perimeter shooting from Elyse Jobin (Moncton, N.B.) and Marie-Eve Caouette (St-Augustin de Demaures, Que.) helped Laval increase their lead to nine points at 28-19 in the second quarter. The Rouge et Or continued to roll, capitalizing on Ryerson turnovers to extend their lead to 36-23 at half time.
Laval blew the game wide open in the third quarter, turning in 30 points on offence. With a short bench of just two extra players, Ryerson showed signs of fatigue half way through the quarter and could never recover. At the end of the frame Laval led by 29 points and extended the lead to 32 with the final score of 81-49.
The Rouge et Or had five players reach double figures with Jobin leading the way with a game-high 15 points. Marjorie Ferland (Quebec City, Que.) added 14 and added a team-high three assists.
For the Rams, Silvana Jez (Kitchener, Ont.) led the way with 14 points and added a game-high six rebounds. First year guard C'airah Gabriel-Robinson (Mississauga, Ont.) had a strong game with 11 points.
Game 4: Saskatchewan 73, McMaster 63
The Saskatchewan Huskies closed out the final game on day one of the Darcel Wright Memorial Classic with a 73-63 victory over the McMaster Marauders. Saskatchewan built a 17 point lead in the second quarter but had to overcome some adversity in the second half to pull off the victory.
McMaster's Isabel Ormond (Hamilton, Ont.) opened the scoring with a jumper from just inside the arc and the Marauder defence forced turnovers on the first two Saskatchewan possessions. Huskies forward Dalyce Emmerson asserted her presence down low early, scoring the first seven Saskatchewan points.
The Huskies took a 22-14 lead into the second quarter and began to run the floor effectively, giving them transition points but also allowing them to establish their half court offence. Saskatchewan built a 17 point lead at 38-21 and entered the half time break up 13 with the score 38-25.
McMaster opened the third quarter with a 6-2 run to cut the lead back to single digits at 40-31. With 5:55 remaining, McMaster still trailed by nine but closed the quarter strong defensively which helped them get back in the game.
The Marauders outscored Saskatchewan 14-4 in a five minute span to take a 49-48 lead with 1:10 remaining in the third quarter. It was the first McMaster lead since the 9-8 mark back in the first. The teams traded baskets to close the scoring at 51-51 at the end of three quarters.
A 22 point fourth quarter for Saskatchewan combined with a three minute scoring drought for McMaster helped seal the Huskies victory. Saskatchewan was able to make the stop when they needed it on defence and converted offensively to close the game for a 73-63 win.
Emmerson led the Huskies with 19 points and finished with a double-double as she also collected 10 rebounds. Kera Lyons also recorded a double-double, posting 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Saskatchewan could not stop McMaster freshman Danielle Boiago (Hamilton, Ont.) as she racked up an impressive 30 points for the Marauders. Boiago shot 17-32 from the floor, including 4-8 from behind the arc. Hailey Milligan (Brantford, Ont.) finished with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.
Day 2 Schedule:
1:00 p.m. - Brock vs. Toronto
3:00 p.m. - Ryerson vs. McMaster
5:30 p.m. - UNB vs. UBC
7:30 p.m. - Laval vs. Saskatchewan
