ST. CATHARINES, ON – The Gryphons women's basketball team suffered a 59-53 loss Wednesday night in St. Catharines to the Brock Badgers. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 5-5 on the season while the Badgers improve to 7-4.
 
The Gryphons got off to solid start in what was a back-and-forth affair that marked the first of six consecutive road games for the team. Fifth year forward Kate MacTavish (Waterloo, ON) was dominant in the paint early on for the Gryphons, helping Guelph take a 25-24 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
In the second half, the Badgers were able to slow down MacTavish by committing two, sometimes even three, defenders to her at the offensive end of the court. MacTavish finished the game with a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds, with 12 of those 18 points coming in the opening two quarters of play. With Brock's focus clearly shifting to trying to contain MacTavish in the second half, the Gryphons needed their supporting cast to take advantage of some open looks on the perimeter. Unfortunately for the Gryphs, the shots from the outside just weren't falling Wednesday night as the team finished the game 4-of-19 from 3-point range, including going just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc in the 2^nd half.
 
What made things even more challenging for the Gryphons was the fact that two of the team's top guards were also battling foul trouble on the night with both Bridget Atkinson and Dana Van Balkom fouling out of the game in the fourth quarter. Regan Duff (London, ON) and Haley Belyk (Regina, SK) came off the bench and provided the Gryphons with a nice spark, while fifth year guard Barbara Inrig-Pieterse led all Gryphon scorers in the second half with 11 points. On the defensive side of the ball, the Gryphons were also solid all night, forcing 15 Brock turnovers in that second half. Unfortunately the visitors were unable to convert those turnovers into points as the team shot 29% from the floor on the night (18-for-62).
 
The Gryphons out-rebounded the Badgers 45-37 on the night, thanks in part to Quincy Sickles-Jarvis who hauled in 8 rebounds off the bench. Before fouling out, Van Balkom knocked down a pair of three pointers while Atkinson had a team-high 3 assists to go along with a couple steals.
 
The Gryphons currently sit in third in the OUA Central Division but have a game-in-hand on the two teams ahead of them (Brock & McMaster). The top three teams in each of the OUA's four divisions qualify for the playoffs. The Gryphons still have nine games remaining on their regular season schedule and will next be in action on Saturday, January 30 when they travel to Sault Ste. Marie to face the Algoma Thunderbirds (0-11).