Marauder women's basketball gain more than just a win

The narrative about McMaster’s inability to finish in the fourth quarter is beginning to unravel. With 43 seconds left, Vanessa Bonomo drove left, stepped back and knocked down a mid-range jumper.

The shot put the McMaster Marauders up 59-57 – its first fourth quarter lead of the game.

McMaster’s opponent – the Western Mustangs – were leading in the standings by two games going into the Jan. 25 match-up.

Bonomo’s shot forced the Mustangs to foul, and with two offensive rebounds from Rachael Holmes, the Marauders had buried a capable opponent in a fourth quarter.

It was the itch Mac could not stretch but finally, they had.

“I knew I was going to have to put up a quick three or drive to the net, and it was a lucky shot for me,” said Bonomo.

“I don’t really use the step-back to often, so I was surprised to see it go down.”

After that fourth quarter, the fifth-year point guard believes the victory will have a trickle-down effect.

She says the team looks different than it has earlier in this season, and thinks that change is here to stay.

“It was huge for our confidence, it looked like everyone was catching the ball looking to score,” said the co-captain.

Now, Mac heads to Thunder Bay, Ont., to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves in a double-header.

The games offer a chance for McMaster to create some separation between them, Brock and Lakehead.

At 10-6, the Marauders own a respectable record and the appreciation from coaches around the CIS, receiving votes yet again for the weekly top-ten poll.

Including exhibition play, McMaster stacks up well against the rest of the country, sitting at ninth in the CIS Blog’s Simple Ranking System – a figure that encompasses a team’s margin of victory and quality of opponents, while also weighing more recent games more heavily.

But despite all those positives, they only have a one-game lead over Brock (with a game in hand) and a two-game lead over Lakehead.

A sweep of the Wolves is ideal, given the road ahead. McMaster has to play Brock at home, Windsor in Windsor, Laurier at home and Waterloo at home to finish out the season post-Thunder Bay, and Mac is 2-2 against those opponents. A home playoff game is a stated team goal and well within their reach.

It’s also favourable because McMaster is 5-2 at home, compared to 5-4 on the road.

“We knew once we dropped that game to Guelph and that game to Laurier, we had to win-out the season,” said Bonomo.

In order to accomplish that, McMaster will need to keep playing defence with the intensity they have all year in order to get there.

Through sixteen games, only Windsor has allowed fewer points against in the OUA West. Mac’s offence has been strong also, as they sit in third for points for in the entire Ontario conference.

It is possible that the fourth quarter against Western was an anomaly, but it is looking unlikely.

The Marauder’s good fortunes should continue, as long as Milligan continues to play at an All-Canadian level and Boiago maintains her efficient scoring to go along with her high usage.

Against the Mustangs, Mac looked sure of themselves all through the final ten minutes.

That confidence should be a stain that will be hard to wipe off.