North Bay, ON – Nipissing Women's Basketball fought hard but came up short against the McMaster Marauders, losing 90-82 on Saturday, January 17 at home.
The McMaster outscored Nipissing in the first quarter 27-24. The Marauders jumped to a 13-7 lead before layups from Nicole Budd, Sophie Milner, and Sydney Lake tied thing at 13. McMaster drained a three-pointer, but Nipissing took the lead at 18-17 soon after via a Aver Miller three-pointer. McMaster capitalized on fouls, sinking many free throws to help their lead grow. Sophie Milner hit two clutch free throws to cut the Marauders lead to just 3 heading into the second quarter.
Nipissing outscored McMaster 25-24 in the second quarter. The game stayed close, but the Marauders built and maintained a 6-point lead early from a few key jumpers. Sophie Milner made a layup and was fouled; she sank the free throw to get Nipissing back in the game. Dominique Bouchard added a layup to cut the lead to just three. Nipissing made some key defensive stops before Taryn Gauthier sank a jump shot to cut McMasters lead to one. The Marauders answered, regaining their lead, but Gauthier sank another jumper to cut the lead to just two for McMaster, 51-49 at half.
McMaster outscored Nipissing 19-13 in the third quarter. Fouls were plenty in this frame, and both teams made tidy work at the free throw line. Katelyn DeCook brought the contest even at 52 with a layup. McMaster hit four more free throws soon after to lead by two once again. The Marauders added a three-pointer to build a five-point lead. McMaster began to pull away with more made-free throws that the Lakers couldn't answer, taking a six-point lead. The lead grew to eight at 70-62, where things would stand after three quarters.
The Lakers would cut the Marauders lead to just five at the midway point of the final quarter before McMaster would take a 10-point lead with five minutes to play. The Lakers would rally, but the Marauders would continue to build their lead that ultimately led to a 90-82 win. Nipissing scored 20 to McMaster's 20 in the fourth.
Nipissing's Taryn Gauthier led the Lakers with 19 points and added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal. Dominique Bouchard scored 17 points in the loss and added 1 rebound and 2 assists. Sophie Milner scored 12 points and added 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Off the bench, Avery Walker scored 7 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
The loss moves Women's Basketball to 4-11 on the season.
The Lakers are back in action on Friday, January 23rd, visiting Lakehead University in Thunder Bay for a matchup. Catch the action live on OUA.tv.
#GoLakers
