Mac wins two on trip to north
Ben Orr
Silhouette Staff
After a tough start to 2012, the McMaster women's basketball team rebounded impressively with back-to-back wins in Thunder Bay on Jan. 20 and 21.
Lakehead is home to one of the most difficult gym's to play at in CIS basketball, but the Marauders escaped with two strong wins, taking their conference record to 7-7 for the season, good enough for a tie for fourth in the OUA West with the Thunderwolves.
The first game of the double-header saw a balanced Marauder attack overwhelm their opponents as they took an early lead and would not look back. Bringing a 42-30 lead into halftime, the Maroon and Grey stayed in top gear, closing out a 74-57 victory.
An astonishing five Marauders would hit double digits, as Taylor Chiarot (14 points), Liz Burns (13) Stephanie Truelove (11), Hailey Milligan (10) and Vanessa Bonomo (10) all hit the benchmark.
After the victory, coach Theresa Burns praised her team’s effort in the first act of their northern road trip.
“We were much more focused mentally, and I think our defensive intensity was just way higher than it has been in both the full court and half court,” said the Marauder bench boss. “I think we were making second and third efforts defensively and that made a huge difference for us.”
Act two would follow the same script, as the Marauders would dominate once again with a balanced attack, earning a 73-44 win in the Saturday night tilt. The Wolves had no answer for Chiarot, who would tally a game-high 23 points, and four Marauders hit double figures.
“I think you like to get as many people involved in scoring as you can,” explained Burns. “You're always going to have your top scorers, but I think every player has to be an offensive threat or the other team can focus and double your top scorers.”
Coach Burns spoke to the importance of capturing positive momentum, something her squad has struggled to do thus far in the season.
“I think it's huge. This is the time of year when you want to be on an upswing and heading towards a peak, just around playoff time,” said Burns. “Hopefully we can keep it going this week. The two wins moved us up in the standings considerably and we've got the tiebreaker with Lakehead now,” she said.
Mac will take on Guelph at the Burridge Gym on Jan. 25, a game that could have serious playoff implications, as the Gryphons are only two points back of the Marauders in the OUA West.
“If we can win that one, it's a four point game,” said Burns on the eve of the home contest. “We can put some distance between us and Guelph. We definitely want to keep this going.
“You need to be consistent this time of year. This will be a big test for us tonight, to see if we can play with the same kind of intensity and focus we had on the weekend.”
This is a team that has been decimated by injuries so far this season, but the Marauders did receive some good news. Rookie guard Abby Hurd practiced this week and is expected to dress soon, with limited playing time. Coach Burns welcomed the reinforcement.
“Having Abby back in the lineup will be good. She was just starting to roll when she hurt her shoulder, so hopefully be get her back on track pretty quickly.”
Sam Hunt will remain on the sidelines for a two more weeks, when her health will be reassessed.
