HAMILTON, Ont. - The OUA playoffs are here and the maroon and grey are ready to face the Guelph Gryphons. The Marauders will return to Burridge Gymnasium Saturday afternoon for an OUA quarterfinal where the winner will secure a spot in the semifinals while the other's season will end.
Guelph vs McMaster
OUA Quarterfinal
Burridge Gymnasium | Hamilton, Ont.
February 25th, 2023 @ 2pm
The Marauders and Gryphons met back in November in a rare Wednesday night game in Guelph. Despite a close contest, in the end, that game went the way of the Gryphons who earned the win with a final score of 82-73.
Amy Stinson (Hamilton, Ont.) led the Marauders' offense with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists while
Sarah Gates (Newmarket, Ont.),
Jenna Button (Dundas, Ont.) and
Cassie Joli-Coeur all scored in double-digits for a combined 39 points. The last time the Gryphons and Marauders met in the playoffs (Feb. 19, 2020) the two teams played to an 82-82 tie before the Marauders pulled out a 93-88 win in an absolute thriller.
After facing a number of nationally-ranked opponents in the first two months of the season, McMaster had a strong second half of the OUA season, going 11-1 in the 2023 calendar year to finish at the top of the OUA Central. The only blemish on that record, a 78-63 loss, came at the hands of the reigning national champions - the TMU Bold - two weeks ago in Toronto. With a 17-5 regular season record, the Marauders enter the OUA playoffs as the #3 seed. Two Marauder veterans have been statistical leaders on the national stage all season long. Senior guard,
Sarah Gates, was the national scoring leader, averaging 27.3 points per game, almost five more than her nearest competitor, for 600 total points during the regular season. The fifth-year human behaviour student has knocked down more field goals (210) and 3-pointers (63) than any other player in the nation and ranks second in made free throws (117). Teammate,
Mia Spadafora, has been lights out from behind the arc this season. The Hannon, Ont. local made 45 of 93 attempts from 3-point range for a U SPORTS leading 48.4 3-point percentage.
With an impressive season of their own, the Guelph Gryphons finished the regular season in second spot in the OUA West with a 16-6 record. Starting the season undefeated through its first eight games, the Gryphons picked up their first losses of the OUA campaign in January at the hands of the Ottawa Gee-Gees, Carleton Ravens, TMU Bold and Waterloo Warriors. Guelph closed out the regular season with two wins over the Western Mustangs and Windsor Lancers and picked up a victory in its OUA First Round Playoff contest against the York Lions on Wednesday. The Gryphons have some standout athletes of their own including third-year guard Mackeely Shantz. The human kinetics student ranks fourth nationally in made field goals with 142 and totaled 379 points to rank her in the Top 10 in scoring across U SPORTS.
Both squads will battle it out in Burridge in a game with everything on the line. One team will continue their playoff journey while the other's season will come to a close.
The winner of Wednesday's match-up will play in an OUA semifinal and face the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal match-up between the Carleton Ravens and TMU Bold.
Last Time Out
The McMaster Marauders women's basketball team concluded the regular season on a high at home with a 94-73 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues last Saturday night. It was neck-and-neck for the first five minutes of the contest but, from there, it was all maroon and grey. McMaster shot 75% from the field in the second frame while netting 3-of-5 from three-point range to put up 30 points. The Marauders pulled away from there and went on to secure the win. The hosts controlled the glass, out-rebounding Toronto 40-29 on the night, while also leaning on their bench for 49 points. McMaster ended the night with an average of 52.2% from the field and 45% from outside the arc. Senior guard,
Sarah Gates (Newmarket, Ont.) continued her impressive form with a cool 36-points on the night and six rebounds.
Jenna Button (Dundas, Ont.), a fourth-year kinesiology student in her third year of eligibility, had a memorable night, recording a career high 25 points in the victory. The Dundas local added five rebounds and two assists.
Game Coverage
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