GUELPH, Ont. – Friday night at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre, the Gryphons women's basketball team rolled to a 32-point win on their home court versus a short-handed Brock team. The Gryphons dominated at both ends of the court, leading by 19 at the half and by 31 heading to the fourth. The Badgers, who entered the game riddled by injuries, dressed just seven players and were unable to match the Gryphons from the get-go. Fourth year guard Megan Brenkel led a balanced scoring attack for the Gryphons, pouring in 13 points off the bench. With the win, the Gryphs improve to 7-9 on the season while Brock falls to 5-10. The two teams will square off again on Wednesday night in St. Catharines.
 
"Our team defence tonight was outstanding," said Mark Walton, now in his second season as head coach of the U of G women's basketball program. "They (Brock) didn't get their first bucket until the three-minute mark of the opening quarter. Holding them to 16 points in the opening half was pretty impressive. The 'D' was great, and it was also nice to see us knock down some shots at the other end as well."
 
The Gryphons matched a season-high with seven made three-pointers, with the last time coming back on November 8 in a win over York. The 44-points allowed also matched a season-low for the Gryphons, who held the Nipissing Lakers to the same total in a 71-44 win back on November 25. Guelph held the Badgers to 26% shooting on the night (14-57) while forcing 22 turnovers leading to 23 points.
 
While Brock was forced to deal with a short-handed roster, the Gryphons were able to show off some of their depth with 37 of the team's 76 points coming from the bench. Aside from Brenkel's team-high 13 points, the Gryphons also received some solid contributions from reserves like Ashley White. The rookie centre from Cambridge chipped in with 7 points and 6 rebounds in 18 minutes of floor time.
 
The Badgers actually went from having seven players available to just six after a scary injury in the third quarter that saw Stephanie Findlay leave the game with an upper body injury that required stitches.
 
Friday night's win gave the Gryphons an important two points and provided a little distance in the standings, with sixth-place Guelph now sitting four points ahead of seventh-place Brock in the OUA West division standings. The Gryphons, who sit just two points back of fourth-place in the division, will now make the trip to St. Catharines on Wednesday night (Jan. 24) to cap off their home-and-home with the Badgers. Tip is set for 6pm and can be seen live online at oua.tv.