GUELPH, Ont. – For the third time in the span of six days, the Gryphons women's basketball team found themselves in a ball game that came down to the wire. Unlike their recent weekend road trip to Thunder Bay where the Gryphons dropped back-to-back tight games to Lakehead, this time around it was the Gryphons who were executing down the stretch and adding to the win column.

Wednesday evening at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre, the Gryphons picked up an important 64-63 win over the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks.

With the game tied at 63-63 late in the fourth quarter, Gryphons fourth year guard Megan Brenkel earned a trip to the free throw line with just :07 seconds remaining in regulation and connected on the first of her two free throws to put the Gryphons in the lead. After a desperation buzzer-beating three-point attempt from Laurier guard Nicole Morrison fell short, the Gryphons had officially earned  a hard-fought 64-63 victory to draw even with the Golden Hawks in the OUA West standings. With the result, both teams now sit at 6-7 on the season, tied for 5th in the nine-team OUA West division standings.

"We talked specifically this week about finishing at the end of games," said Gryphons head coach Mark Walton. "At one point in the fourth quarter, we were down seven points. But they fought back and made some plays when we had to. We defended well and won a lot of the 'effort plays' tonight, which was the difference in the end."
 
Just as the two teams' records would indicate, little separated the two sides throughout the game on Wednesday night. Gryphons rookie guard Burke Bechard had a big night, leading the team in both scoring (16 points) and rebounding (14 rebounds).

But in the late stages, it was the Gryphons' veterans stepping up. Fourth year guard Haley Belyk (Regina, SK) connected on a clutch three-pointer with 4:05 remaining in the final quarter to put the Gryphons up by four.
 
Aside from sinking the game-winning free throw in the final stages, senior guard Megan Brenkel came up with several other game-changing plays, including a great hustle play with 2:47 remaining where she saved a ball from going out of bounds and found fellow senior Quincy Sickles-Jarvis for a lay in to put the Gryphons up 62-58.
 
One of the keys for the Gryphons on the night was finding a way to contain Laurier senior guard Nicole Morrison who entered the night as the OUA's second-leading scorer with 20.3 points per game. Morrison, who was held to 7-19 shooting on the night, would tie the game up at 63-63 with :24 seconds remaining after forcing a turnover and getting to the rim for a pair of free throws.

Morrison finished the night with 24 points, but was unable to shake Haley Belyk in the final seconds and had to settle for a contested buzzer-beating attempt from just inside mid-court. Belyk, who picked up a pair of steals on the night, was part of a trio of Gryphons who got a shot at defending one of the conference's elite scorers, with rookies Burke Bechard and Skyla Minaker also making big contributions on the defensive end.
 
While Laurier's offence ran through their talented senior guard, the Gryphons received a balanced scoring attack with four different players scoring in double figures. Brenkel and Sickles-Jarvis both came off the bench and made big impacts with Brenkel finishing with 14 points and 8 rebounds with Sickles-Jarvis chipping in with 12 points and 7 boards.
 
Third year guard Ivana Vujadinovic followed up her 17-point effort at Lakehead on Saturday with another strong performance on Wednesday, finishing with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists versus Laurier.
 
The Gryphons will now get set to host the No. 9-ranked team in the country on Saturday night when the Windsor Lancers visit the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre. Windsor currently sits atop the OUA West standings with a 9-3 record and will be on the second night of back-to-back games on Saturday after they visit the Waterloo Warriors on Friday evening. Tip on Saturday between the Gryphs and Lancers is set for 6pm with the game available to viewers online at oua.tv.