Stingy Gryphon women upend TMU Bold
GUELPH – The Guelph Gryphons tightened up their defensive play after the first quarter as they limited the Toronto Metropolitan Bold to a total of 12 points in the final three quarters as they claimed a 60-36 victory in OUA women’s basketball play at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre Saturday.
The 36 points is the least scored against the Gryphs in a single game in league play this season.
It’s also the fewest points scored in a game against a Canadian opponent this season, exhibition and regular season by the Bold. They were held to less in a 111-34 loss to NCAA heavyweight Connecticut Huskies in an exhibition game Dec. 20. TMU is 1-4 in 2024.
Saturday, the Bold led 24-14 at the end of the first quarter and 30-27 at halftime before the Gryphs shot ahead 49-34 by the end of the third quarter. TMU’s only points of the fourth quarter were a pair of free throws two and a half minutes into the quarter.
Renee Armstrong had 12 points for the Gryphs while Trinity Papamandjaris added 10 and Hannah Bourdon collected nine. Armstrong had six rebounds, three assists and two blocks while Bourdon had eight rebounds while Julia Colavecchia had two blocks and six steals and Alexis Wright had five assists.
Kaillie Hall, Haley Fedick and Jessica Keripe each had eight points for TMU while Hailey Franco-DeRyck had 10 rebounds and a block. Jayme Foreman had two assists while Hall had three steals.
The Gryphs shot 30 percent on field goals, 28 percent on three-pointers, 89 percent on free throws and had 33 rebounds, 14 assists, 22 turnovers, 21 points off TMU turnovers, 13 second-chance points, 12 points in the paint and 15 points from their bench.
The Bold shot 26 percent on field goals, six percent (1-of-16) on three-pointers, 79 percent on free throws and had 34 rebounds, three assists, 31 turnovers, seven points off Gryphon turnovers, four second-chance points, 18 points in the paint and 11 points from their bench.
The Gryphs lead the West Division at 11-5 and are followed by the Waterloo Warriors at 10-4, Western Mustangs at 9-6, Windsor Lancers and Laurier Golden Hawks both at 8-6 and Algoma Thunderbirds at 2-12.
TMU and the Brock Badgers are tied atop the Central Division with 11-4 records.
For the playoffs, the teams are ranked as if they’re all in a single division with the top 12 qualifying for the playoffs. Top four get byes in the preliminary round.
The Bold entered the week ranked 13th in the country while the Gryphs were ranked 16th.
The Gryphs are seventh in the overall standings and have six games left in their regular season, five of them on the road.
The Gryphs have more than a week to prepare for the stretch run as their next game is slated for Jan. 31 in London against the Western Mustangs. Game time at Western’s Alumni Hall is 6 p.m.
Final home game for the Gryphs, also against Western, is slated for Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. at the GGAC.
The Gryphs also have away games against Windsor Feb. 4, York Lions (2-13) Feb. 7, Nipissing Lakers (2-13) Feb. 16 and Laurentian Voyageurs (4-11) Feb. 17.
- Guelph Sports Journal