10TH STRAIGHT FINAL FOUR
Lancers pull away down the stretch
When the push came this time, the University of Windsor Lancers women’s basketball team pushed back.
Windsor dropped a regular season match to the Ryerson Rams by four points in December when the Lancers were unable to halt a late charge.
On Saturday, the No. 7-ranked Lancers countered another late charge by the No. 10-ranked Rams for a 68-50 win in OUA quarterfinal play before 1,589 at the St. Denis Centre.
“That’s the nature of the game,” Lancer co-captain Emily Prevost said. “Basketball’s a game of runs and we needed to control them. We knew they would push back. When they did, we pushed back even harder in the fourth quarter.”
With the win, the Lancers advance to the OUA Final 4 for the 10th straight year. Windsor now heads to Kingston to play the Queen’s Gaels in semifinal play on Friday at 6 p.m.
“This is the 10th straight year and it’s another good thing to celebrate because it shows in 10 years, with four or five completely different teams, we’ve done this,” Lancers head coach Chantal Vallee said.
Against the Rams on Saturday, the Lancers led by as many as 12 points early, but Ryerson pushed back to take a four-point lead in the third quarter.
Clinging to a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Lancers closed the game on a 25-8 run to seal the victory.
“Playoffs are a different season,” Vallee said. “We knew they had the best of us in the regular season, but we’re maturing and starting to jell at the right time. It’s no different than the last 10 seasons, where we’re keeping our eyes on the prize.”
Windsor’s most impressive stat was a dominating 49-29 advantage in rebounding led by Prevost, who had 23 points and 16 rebounds.
“We knew it would be a key factor,” Prevost said. “It’s nice to see our focus on that paid off. We really outworked them on the boards.”
Kaylee Anagnostopoulos had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Lancers. Cheyanne Roger also grabbed 10 rebounds to go with her nine points for Windsor, who now face the No. 5-ranked Gaels with the winner heading to the national championship tournament.
“We always have a metaphor in the playoffs of climbing a mountain,” Prevost said. “Once the playoffs start, we embrace the concept of peaking. The top four teams are left and it anyone can win on any given day.”