WBB - Voyageurs conclude first half of the season with a win
On Saturday night, the women's basketball team hosted the Nipissing Lakers to conclude the first half of the season. The Voyageurs were able to pull through with a 73-60 win.
To start off the game, Voyageurs' forward Claudia Pellerin got fouled, leading to two made free throws. Laurentian was then scoreless until the last minute, where Molly Adams scored two free throws. The Voyageurs were trailing the Lakers 14-4 going into the next ten minutes.
In the second quarter, Aneisha Rismond put the Vees on the board with a layup, followed by a 3-point shot from Adams. At the seventh minute mark, Sudbury native Melanie Cloutier scored her first layup and Pellerin added another two points to the board. Later on, Cloutier got fouled going to the net, which led to two more points for Laurentian. This was repeated one minute later, helping the Voyageurs get closer to the Lakers' score. Two minutes later, Monica Jean-Baptiste scored a 3-pointer and Pellerin added 2 points, equalizing the game at 23 points a-piece. With a 3-point shot from Cloutier and two layups from Pellerin, the Vees were leading 30-29 going into halftime.
Coming back from halftime, the Voyageurs' offense was clearly more organized, with Emilie Lafond, Pellerin and Rileigh Smith scoring a combination of 12 points within five minutes. The Lakers were scoreless until the fourth minute mark, which gave the Voyageurs more momentum to keep scoring points. Audrey-Anne Labreche scored her first 3-point shot of the game, while Smith and Rismond both scored a layup. At the end of the quarter, the Voyageurs were up 55-41.
In the last ten minutes, Megan Axiak scored 3 points, Adams scored 5 points and Cloutier scored a layup. This gave the Voyageurs a 17-point lead, with five minutes remaining in the game. However, Laurentian's defence fell apart in the last five minutes, with the Lakers scoring 12 points in two minutes. In the last minute, Cloutier scored 4 points, which concluded scoring for both teams. The Voyageurs were victorious 73-60 over their northern rivals.
Melanie Cloutier led the Voyageurs with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Claudia Pellerin and Molly Adams added 14 points each in the contest.
This game concludes the first half of the basketball season. The Voyageurs are back in action after Christmas break as they head to Thunder Bay to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves on January 5th.
-Madison Boileau