Box Score The McMaster women's basketball team pushed its win streak to nine games by defeating the Guelph Gryphons 72-56 in Hamilton Wednesday night.

Having moved into the top spot in the national rankings this week, the Marauder women did not play one of their best games against their Central Division rivals, but were still able to secure the win on home court.

Trailing 13-12 in the first quarter, the Marauders went on an 8-0 run to end the period and take a 20-13 lead after 10 minutes.  The run continued into the second quarter as McMaster scored the first nine points to build up a 29-13 margin, and looked like it would coast to an easy win.  But the Gryphons went on a 14-2 run of their own to close the gap to just four points.  The Marauders weathered the storm and by intermission, had bumped the lead up to 39-30. Rachael Holmes drained a trey right before the halftime buzzer.

The third quarter opened with McMaster outscoring the Gryphons 9-2  to open a 16-point lead and Guelph was unable to find the run it needed to reduce the deficit.  After 30 minutes, the Marauders were in front 57-38. 

The final quarter saw the lead hover around the 20-point mark, as Mac coach Theresa Burns was able to spread out the playing time.   Some late Gryphon scoring closed the gap a bit, but the outcome wasn't in doubt as time ran out on the visitors.

Despite the win McMaster shot poorly on the night, making 33% (28-83) from the floor, 25% (7-28) from 3-point range, and 56% (9-16) from the charity stripe.  As a team, the Marauders missed numerous lay-ups and open shots from close range.  Top shooter for Mac was Linnaea Harper with 17, while Holmes chipped in 11.  Guelph got a big game from Sarah Holmes who had 18 and 13 rebounds.

The Marauders will next head to St. Catharines on Saturday, November 26th for a clash with the Brock Badgers. It's the second meeting between McMaster and Brock in 10 days.  Tip-off at Brock is set for 1 p.m. and the game can be viewed online at OUA.tv.