Women's Basketball ready for challenges

Some games mean more to teams than others. Some wins are sweeter. Some losses cut deeper.

For the McMaster Women’s Basketball team, there are some games that are always highlighted in the game calendar, match-ups that the group looks forward to and ones that always pose a physical challenge.

Last night, amidst a busy day of events on campus, a familiar competitor came through the doors of the David Braley Athletic Centre. Walking through the hallways and into the guest locker room were the Windsor Lancers, a women’s basketball team that has won the CIS National championship for the last 5 years.

“Anytime we play Windsor, you know it’s going to be a good game,” said Anne Marie Thuss, interim Head Coach of the Marauders team.

The Marauders know the level of talent the Lancers possess and they welcomed the challenge with open arms.

A good game is an understatement for the 40 minutes of high-energy that was witnessed from the bleachers. The team was alive and the bench was awake; counting down the shot clock as every possession evoked a reaction from the team.

The first quarter of play saw the Marauders holding the Lancers to a 20-19 lead.

The second quarter saw some sloppy play as the Marauders were cold for shooting for the first four minutes, as the first shot came from fourth-year forward Clare Kenney at the line when she made one of two foul shots.

McMaster called a time out to regroup after a troubling few minutes of the second quarter.

The gears were slowly put back in motion, but the Marauders could not find a quick solution to the Lancers’ long range shooting.

The second quarter was a low scoring one. Marauders only scored eight in the second quarter, while the Lancers scored 14.

The intensity was turned up as McMaster scored 18 in the third quarter and kept the Lancers at only nine points.

The last ten minutes of the fourth quarter was one filled with grit and McMaster knew that they had to seal the game with a win.

After a very important final quarter, McMaster was able to close out the game with a 68-62 win over the Windsor Lancers.

“Coming into the game, we knew we had to bring a level of focus. Everybody came out knowing their role,” said Manning.

“This was a really gutsy win because we were down in the first half. We took a step in knowing how to win. That was a positive for us,” said Thuss.

“Anytime we play Windsor, you know it’s going to be a good game.”

The top contributor on the score sheet came from fourth-year guard Danielle Boiago with 24 points. It was also a great night for guard Siobhan Manning as she was able to claim 18 points of her own.

“It was a really big game for us to maintain composure in a close game. As a team, it’s important to win in close games like this. We played the same intensity no matter the score,” said Manning.

McMaster will look to win their sixth straight game as they defend home court against the Western Mustangs on Saturday, Jan. 23. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. at Burridge Gym.

Photo Credit: Jon White/Photo Editor