The women’s basketball team traveled to Waterloo last weekend hoping to build on a two-game winning streak.
On Friday the Gaels put forth a lackadaisical effort and fell to the Laurier Golden Hawks 59-48. Jaime Dale led the team in scoring with 15 points, and Claire Meadows was right behind her with a 14-point effort.
Head coach Dave Wilson said he wasn’t impressed by his team’s weekend performance.
“We didn’t play overly well, to be honest,” Wilson said. “We were pretty flat against Laurier. There was a lack of intensity and passion.”
On Saturday evening the Gaels hoped to rebound from their loss with a win over the Waterloo Warriors. The women were successful, narrowly edging the Warriors 51-48. Meadows led the team with 21 points and added 10 rebounds for the double-double. Sarah Barnes added 13 points in the winning effort and Teddi Firmi was strong in her own end with 10 defensive rebounds.
“[Meadows] is still leading the way for us,” Wilson said of the star player. “She hasn’t been held [below] double figures all year.”
Wilson also praised Dale for her consistently good play.
This weekend the women will travel to the nation’s capital, to take on the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens.
Wilson said he is optimistic about the Gaels’ chances this weekend, but acknowledges that every game is going to be a challenge.
“Our consistency needs work,” Wilson said. “We are going to need more effort to be successful.” Besides noting the areas in which the Gaels need to improve, Wilson said he has been happy with his team’s overall performance this season.
“We have a lot to improve on for sure, but it has been a remarkably good season,” Wilson said. “We are in second place [in the East division], despite having a very young team and not a lot of size.”
After beginning the New Year with a convincing win over Lakehead on Jan. 6, the men’s basketball team has drifted in a decidedly different direction.
On Friday evening the Gaels took on the Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo. The Golden Hawks outmatched the Gaels, defeating them 85-56. The Gaels were led by scorers Cameron Eby with 15 points, and Simon Mitchell who posted 13 points.
With the loss, the Gaels slipped to 3-8 on the season, and dropped their second straight game after being defeated by the McMaster Marauders the week before.
The Gaels matched up against Waterloo on Saturday night hoping to overcome the Warriors and put an end to their two-game slide. Unfortunately, the Gaels were again outmatched and were unable to foil the Warriors’ attack. Mitchell and Jonathon Daniel led the team with 14 points each.
Losing three games in a row, the Gaels have a 3-8 record and are currently tied with Laurentian for fifth place in the OUA East division.
Head coach Rob Smart said a poor defensive effort contributed to the Gaels’ weekend losses.
“I don’t think we can win if we don’t defend well,” Smart said. “They have a lot of guys who can score. Waterloo shot 14 for 19 from the three-point line.”
Smart added that the Gaels need to focus on playing defence as a team, because they lack the individual athleticism to defend talented opposing scorers without acting as a cohesive unit.
On a positive note, Smart said he has been impressed by the play of guard Simon Mitchell since he joined the team before the winter break.
“[Mitchell] has been playing the most consistent for us,” Smart said. “We’ve had two or three different guys step up for us every game, but Mitchell has played consistently well.”
Breaking a three game losing streak may prove to be a challenge for the team, as they travel to Ottawa this weekend to take on the Gee-Gees and the Ravens on Friday and Saturday respectively. The Carleton Ravens were ranked first in the nation until slipping to third after losing their first game in three years to Brock last week. Meanwhile, the Gee-Gees are currently ranked fourth, right behind the Ravens.
Smart said his team is not intimidated by the quality of their opponents this weekend.
“We’re in fifth place, but we can play anybody close on a given night,” said Smart. “I don’t feel that we are a long way away.” Currently the top 25 teams in the CIS are separated by only 12 points—or six wins. The Gaels are only six points behind that group of 25.
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