Box Score In a clash of top-ten teams, the No. 9 Ottawa Gee-Gees hit a buzzer beater to force overtime and then held on for a 61-60 win over the No. 7 McMaster women's basketball team.
The Marauders looked like they might run away with this one as they opened up an 11-2 lead off the tip and ran that up to a 19-4 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. Danielle Boiago scored 10 points to pace the early blitz for the maroon.
The second stanza saw Ottawa start to find its game, and the Gee-Gees paid closer attention to Boiago as they started their comeback. By halftime Ottawa had won the second quarter by a bucket, trimming the McMaster lead to 33-20. Boiago had 15 by intermission, while Hilary Hanaka chipped in 8 points.
Heading into the third quarter, Ottawa's length started to cause problems for the Marauders at both ends of the floor. As McMaster struggled to score against the taller Gee-Gees, the momentum swung toward Ottawa who tied the score at 39-39, before taking a 42-39 lead heading to the final quarter. Ottawa dominated the quarter 22-6 to wipe out the Mac lead.
Now trailing, McMaster saw the deficit grow to 48-42 before the team started its own comeback. Guard Siobhan Manning scored three straight baskets to tie the game at 48-48 and a hoop by Andrea Polischuk put the Marauders in front 50-48. The Marauders carried a 52-49 lead into the final seconds, but coming out of a timeout, Ottawa's Sarah Besselink hit a corner trey to send the game into overtime.
In the extra stanza, Ottawa's Catherine Traer hit two long bombs to put the Gee-Gees up by six, but the Marauders had another rally in them and got to within a point with 14 seconds remaining. McMaster forced a turnover to get possession and had a shot at the win, but Traer blocked a final shot attempt by Boiago to preserve the victory for the visitors.
This loss will sting for McMaster as the Marauders missed five free-throws in the last two minutes of regulation time that could have sealed a win. The team only made 12 of 19 from the charity stripe for the game, but the late misses were especially costly.
Boaigo was a stalwart for McMaster, scoring a game-high 25 and grabbing 14 rebounds. Hanaka finished with 10 as the only other Marauder in double-figures. Traer was high scorer for Ottawa with 15. Ottawa's height advantage showed in the rebounding totals as the Gee-Gees grabbed 61 boards to McMaster's 44.
McMaster has little time to re-group as they must get ready to play the Carleton Ravens on Saturday night. Game time at the Burridge Gym is set for 6-PM.
