GUELPH, Ont. – Friday night at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre, the Gryphons women's basketball team suffered a 109-80 defeat at the hands of the No. 4-ranked McMaster Marauders. The visiting Marauders came through with their best shooting performance of 2018-19, connecting on a season-high 20 three-pointers to improve to 11-2 on the season. The Gryphons did their best to hang with the high-powered Marauders, with fourth-year forward Ivana Vujadinovic leading the way for Guelph with 20 points on an efficient 8-of-14 shooting from the floor.
 
The Gryphons were facing a 10-point deficit after the opening quarter, but went toe-to-toe with the No. 4-ranked Marauders over the next two quarters, with just four points separating the two teams over the course of the 2nd and 3rd quarters. In the final frame, however, McMaster would once again find their rhythm, exploding for 34 points in the 4th quarter to hand the Gryphons a seventh straight loss.
 
Marauders' fifth-year guard Hilary Hanaka, who ranks 2nd in the OUA in three-point percentage (47%), was responsible for most of the McMaster damage from beyond the arc with the Hamilton native going 8-for-11 from beyond en route to a game-high 28 points. Her younger sister, Julia Hanaka, was right behind her, finishing 7-for-11 from beyond the arc for 21 points.
 
The Gryphons meanwhile also had plenty of positives to take away offensively, with a pair of second-year players chipping in nicely with point guard Skyla Minaker (16 points) and centre Modupe Okeowo (15 points) both producing solid performances. Burke Bechard added 16 points to go along with a team-high 6 rebounds.
 
Gryphon Take
"We knew we were going up against a team that could really shoot. They had 33 assists on 39 made baskets, which tells you how well McMaster was passing as a team. I thought overall we were solid offensively. Defensively, we gave up too many second chance points. They knocked down 20 three-pointers on us, and most of those came off of offensive rebounds where they would kick it out for three. We need to do a better job of closing out in those situations and cleaning up a few things, and we will be fine." ~ head coach Mark Walton
 
The Record:
Guelph is 4-10

Up Next:
vs Brock Badgers - Wednesday, Jan. 16 (6pm)