Box Score Two of the nation's top teams went head-to-head on Wednesday evening as the No.2 McMaster Marauders went up against the 6th-ranked Windsor Lancers.  The Marauders ended up coming away with a slim 74-73 victory, holding off a push from the Lancers in the final two minutes.
 
McMaster struggled to get things going offensively early, being held scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, as Windsor went on a 7-0 run. Mac was able to get it together late in the quarter, but still trailed 13-8 at the end of the first.
 
The Marauders got their offense going in the second quarter, trading buckets with Windsor the entire frame. Although they weren't able to take the lead, the Marauders kept themselves in the game going into the intermission down 34-30.
 
McMaster looked re-energized to start the third quarter, dominating on both ends of the court. They started the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a four-point lead, before Windsor rallied to tie the game at 51 with three minutes remaining in the third. The Marauders ended the quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 60-51 lead heading to the final period..
 
Windsor managed to cut the McMaster lead to two with five minutes left in the game, but Mac was able to respond with an 8-2 run topped off by a Linnaea Harper basket that appeared to be the dagger with just over two minutes remaining.
 
However, Windsor fought back getting the Mac lead down to one, as the Marauders led 74-73 with less than a minute remaining. McMaster turned the ball over with 18 seconds remaining to give the Lancers one last chance to win the game.  The Marauders played tough defensively on the final possession and were able to contest Emily Prevost's last-second shot which failed to drop.
 
Harper had a great game for McMaster, and led in scoring and rebounding with 19 points and six boards. Clare Kenney was a force down low scoring 14 points, while Hilary Hanaka added 12 points and Vanessa Pickard scored 10 off the bench.
 
The win improves McMaster to 16-2 in the OUA, and the team will play its final league game on Saturday at 1-pm when it heads to London to face the Western Mustangs.

The game can be streamed online at OUA.tv and is on radio on CFMU 93.3FM
 
By Jonah Tuck