WBB - Voyageurs close out preseason in the nation's capital
The women's basketball team traveled to Ottawa this weekend, to take on the Carleton Ravens and the Saint Mary's Huskies in the last games of the preseason. The Voyageurs demonstrated a great effort, but unfortunately lost both games.
On Saturday afternoon, the Voyageurs played the Carleton Ravens, which proved to be a difficult challenge for the Vees, as the U Sports champions won the game 99-43. The first five minutes of the game were scoreless for the Voyageurs, until Emilie Lafond netted 4 points in a span of 30 seconds. In the second quarter, Monica Jean-Baptiste scored a 3-point shot, followed by Megan Axiak shortly after. The Ravens quickly answered, adding 20 points to their side of the board, finishing off the first half with a score of 44-18.
The Voyageurs came back from the half with two free throws made by Lauren Robertson-Martin, a 3-point shot from Amber May and Axiak, and another set of jump shots by Lafond. This would bring the Voyageurs to 30 points, with a margin of 33 points to catch up to the Ravens. In the last quarter, the Ravens got away from the Voyageurs, with several 3-point shots made and a 51.5 field goal percentage. Robertson-Martin and Lafond scored more points with free throws, but the blue and gold ended up losing the game 99-43.
The standout performers were Emilie Lafond with 14 points, Megan Axiak with 12 points and Lauren Robertson-Martin with 6 points and 9 rebounds.
To close out the weekend, the Vees played a rematch against the Huskies, which they encountered on their road trip to Halifax. The women ended up dropping the game 66-46. However, the Voyageurs saw an improvement from the previous game, only leaving a 20-point margin, contrary to a 38-point margin last time. Molly Adams opened up scoring with a layup, followed by a 3-point shot from Jean-Baptiste. Lafond, Cloutier and Audrey-Anne Labreche added a combination of 9 points, trailing by 4 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Adams made a jump shot to tie the game at 18 apiece, but the Huskies quickly scored to take the lead once again. Going into the half, the Huskies were leading 33-25 over the Voyageurs.
Robertson-Martin made a layup to start the second half and Lyndelle Joseph followed her lead to add another 2 points to the board. In the last ten minutes, the Voyageurs were behind by 14 points. With only five minutes left in the game, Laurentian called a timeout to reorganize the team. Robertson-Martin, Cloutier and Labreche scored a combination of 6 points, but it was not enough, as the Voyageurs lost 66-46.
The standout performers were Emilie Lafond with 11 points, Melanie Cloutier and Audrey-Anne Labreche both having 7 points and 6 rebounds, and Lauren Robertson-Martin finishing the game with 7 points.
The Voyageurs are back in action on Thursday, November 2nd for the first game of the regular season as they head to Ontario Tech, followed by Queen's Friday evening.
-Madison Boileau