WBB | Voyageurs Suffer Heartbreak Loss to Laurier
The Laurentian Voyageurs women's basketball team finished 2022 with a defeat to the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks Saturday night at the Ben Avery by a score of 66-63.
As the game began, both teams came out strong offensively, hitting early shots and exchanging baskets, not really giving the opponent an edge in a tightly contested matchup from the start. Laurentian came up with some late key points to end the first to give themselves a slim 18-17 lead after the first quarter aided by a strong five offensive rebounds and 4-5 shooting from the free throw line.
In the second, it was more of the same as both teams continued to go toe-to-toe in what was turning into an entertaining match for those in attendance. The Voyageurs defense came up big in the second, not allowing a single 3-point make from the Golden Hawks. However, they could not seem to get a big run together to pull away from Laurier and missed opportunities meant that the two teams went into half time tied at 34.
As the second half rolled around it became even more difficult to try to pick a winner, as once more, the two sides seemed inseparable. It was Laurier though that got the slight edge, winning the quarter 17-15 and having a narrow 51-49 lead going into the fourth as the Voyageurs' struggles from three point range, going just 2-11 in the quarter, limited their offensive output.
The final quarter was without a doubt the most tense ten minutes the Voyageurs had played this season with a chance to end 2022 with a win and neither side were in a mood to back down. In the end, though, the offensive struggles let Laurentian down, going just 2-10 form three in the fourth and overall shooting just 19% from the field in the quarter as they suffered a heartbreaking loss by just three points, 66-63.
The game's key performers included Héléna Lamoureux, who had 12 points, eight rebounds, and six assists as well as Arielle Douillette who had a double-double off the bench with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Voyageurs resume their season when they visit the Algoma Thunderbirds on January 8th in Sault Ste. Marie.