Box Score The McMaster women’s basketball team was short-handed but still managed to defeat the visiting York Lions 59-47 in the OUA opener for both teams on Friday night.

McMaster was missing starting point guard and team captain Vanessa Bonomo, who was out with a lower body injury.  That meant the Marauders would start two freshmen as both Danielle Boiago and Rachael Holmes were in the Maroon first five.

The first quarter was a struggle for McMaster as York opened an early 6-1 lead, but by the end of the period the Marauders had moved in front 13-12.  The second quarter saw McMaster pick up the defensive intensity and the team also did some long distance dialing as Katie Knight came off the bench to knock down two treys, while Holmes also hit a three-pointer.  McMaster limited York to six points in the quarter and led 32-18 at intermission.

The third quarter saw the Marauders get in some foul trouble, and both Liz Burns and Boiago had to sit down after picking up three personals.   Already missing Bonomo, rookie guard Siobhan Manning had to play extended minutes for McMaster and did a nice job at the point.  York was only able to chip the Marauder lead by a basket by the end of the quarter.

The final stanza saw the teams play dead even and McMaster did not allow York to make any significant runs to narrow the gap. 

McMaster got a solid outing from Hailey Milligan, who scored 16 and grabbed 7 rebounds, while Isabel Ormond continued her solid play with 10 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.  The top shooter for York was Courtney Osborne with 17.  Milligan was named the McDonald’s Big Mac player of the game.

The Marauder will host Laurentian on Saturday, November 10 with a 6 p.m. tip-off in the Burridge Gym.