The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women’s basketball team had an amazing effort Saturday afternoon as they faced the Western Mustangs.
The game had major implications on the Ontario University (OUA) West standings with one win separating WLU and Western.
And in a crazy game from start to finish, Laurier walked away with a 74-73 win.
“It was a pretty good basketball game, very entertaining. Any time Laurier plays Western it seems to be a real battle; and I thought both teams played hard, and it could have gone either way,” said Laurier head coach Paul Falco.
The first quarter went by quickly with both teams firing on all cylinders and the quarter ended with a score of 20-18 in favour of Western.
The second quarter was just as quick as the first, but Laurier took control of the game and dictated the tempo. The half ended 40-36 for Laurier.
Laurier was able to hold Western’s leading scorer Jenny Vaughn to just five field goals and 19 points in the game.
With about three minutes left in the third quarter, Laurier guard Lee Anna Osei was injured and taken off the court favouring her ankle, however she would return.
Laurier was able to hold onto their lead, the quarter ending with a score of 58-53.
In the fourth quarter Laurier was dominant again and leading by as many as eight points, but Western stormed back and with 13 seconds to go the score was 74-73.
However there was a bit of controversy, with roughly seven seconds to go there was a clock miscue, resulting in a stoppage of play and time being added back on to the clock.
“Just a miscue, that happens … you have to be ready for anything,” Falco said.
In the final seconds Western had one last drive to the hoop, but Laurier was able to stop them and win the contest, 74-73.
“I was pleased with our team effort, and our defence was a positive for sure,” Falco added.
Notable scorers for Laurier were forward Doreen Bonsu with 19 points and eight rebounds, guard Laura Doyle with 15 points and four rebounds and forward Alexandra Spadaro with ten points and six rebounds.
Laura Doyle was named Laurier Golden Hawk female athlete of the week for her effort.
With the win, the Hawks improve their record to 10-2, which ties them with Western for second place in the OUA West division, behind only Windsor who currently sits first with a record of 11-1.
Laurier lost their contest to Windsor Wednesday evening 73-44.
The Hawks will now go on the road to play the Brock Badgers on Wednesday. Brock has a record of 7-5, and currently sit fifth in OUA West Division.
