Box Score
The Guelph Gryphons women's basketball team defeated the York Lions in an explosive 73-47 finish tonight (Nov 30) at the W.F. Mitchell Centre.
Leading all scorers was Guelph's Kayla Goodhoofd (Oakville, Ont) with 17 points. Jasmine Douglas followed closely behind with 12 points on the night and eight additional rebounds to top the defensive scene.
Cyrielle Recoura (Voiron, Fra.) led the York Lions with 10 points and six rebounds.
The win moves the Gryphons into a 3-3 record while dropping the Lions to 1-6 on the season.
Despite the score, the game got off to a slow defensive start as possession was sporadically swapped between teams. But with critical shots from Dana Van Balkom (Hamilton, Ont) and Alexandra Beatty (Woodstock, Ont) the Gryphons moved ahead ahead by six mid-way in the first. Yet the York Lions found their rhythm in the final minutes of the quarter to cut the Gryphons lead to one as they rounded out the first at 16-15.
The Gryphons were able to build off their earlier momentum in the second quarter to pull away 25-17 to control the tempo of the court. But as the quarter progressed, the Gryphon offence slumped and York was able to take advantage under Cyrielle Recoura's guidance. Recoura lit up in the second quarter for 10 points and was able to dish the ball out to Ishanaa Seupersadsingh (Markham, Ont) and Hayley Finn (London, Ont) who were both good from three to keep their night alive as the half closed at 32-29.
As the second half opened up, Kayla Goodhoofd wasted no time in stealing a pass to break free to drain her second of three consecutive baskets to reign in the tides of momentum. Following the break, the Gryphon defence found its groove and was able to control the rebounds to mount an 11-point unanswered streak to finally break free of the Lions by outshooting the 24-6 in the third.
The Gryphons opened the final 10 minutes by continuing their dominance on both sides of the ball to string together eight more unanswered points to push the game just out of the Lions' reach to cap the night off at 73-48.
Looking to carry this momentum forward, the Gryphons round out the first half of their season tomorrow, Saturday (Dec 1) as they host the Laurentian Voyageurs. Tip off is set for 6:00 p.m. at the W.F. Mitchell Centre.
