OTTAWA, Ont. - The McMaster Marauders women's basketball team faced a tough team in the return of OUA basketball in Ottawa on Friday night.

Despite battling hard and putting up 33 points in the second half, the Marauders fell just short of the win, as the Gee-Gees escaped with a 68-66 victory.

The Marauders went down early in the first quarter, trailing by 10 points, but cut into the Ottawa lead to make the score 18-15 for the hosts after the opening 10 minutes of play.

McMaster and Ottawa played an evenly-matched second quarter as the Marauders posted 18 points while the Gee-Gees were three behind with 15. At the halftime break, the teams were deadlocked at 33.

The Marauders shot 50% from the field in the third but the Gee-Gees put up 31 points, going 13-21 on field goals to extend their lead to fourteen after 30 minutes. With a big wall to climb for the Marauders, the two teams headed into the final frame.

After trailing by double digits, the Marauders tied the game with just 2:16 remaining. Despite keeping it tied for over two minutes, the Marauders were unable to find the go-ahead basket and the Gee-Gees scored with three seconds on the clock to secure the game and steal the win.

Three Marauders hit double digits in points this evening led by Sarah Gates (Newmarket, Ont.) with 16. Jenna Button (Dundas, Ont.) scored 13 while Cassie Joli-Coeur (Johnstown, Ont.) had 12. McMaster owned many of the statistical categories including field goal percentage, three point percentage and rebounds. The Gee-Gees' 28 points off of turnovers proved to be the difference.

Next Up 

McMaster will remain in Ottawa for the evening and face the Carleton Ravens tomorrow night at the Ravens' Nest. Game time is set for 6pm and the game will be available on OUAtv.