Recap The Court

Jacob Smith

We are officially done one week of the OUA women’s basketball season, and a lot happened. Contenders soared, teams played above expectations, highly anticipated rematches were written into schedules, and we got the beginnings of a picture of who teams are. Here are my three biggest takeaways from week one of the OUA women’s basketball season.

Queen’s and Carleton are still the top

I don’t know how much doubt there was about this going into the season, but after week one I think whatever doubt there may have been, has been squandered. Sure Carleton only played one game but going against a Guelph squad that had just taken down Ottawa, they held off the Gryphons throughout the game and their play makes it look like they can turn it on whenever they want to.

The Gaels start 2-0 after a pull ahead win over the Laurentian Voyageurs and a dominant win over the Nipissing Lakers. Whether it’s a team effort like it was against Laurentian, or stars like Laura Donovan taking over to keep Nipissing away, it seems like Queen’s hasn’t lost a step coming off last season. For a team that only lost one game last season, that sure is troubling for the rest of the league.

Until one of them get beat by someone else, it’s hard for me to look at their rosters and how they’re playing on the floor and not say they’re the top of the league.

TMU isn’t going anywhere

TMU is a much younger team this year than they were the previous 4 years including both of the years they went to the Critelli Cup, but don’t let that make you think they’re taking a step back. What head coach Carly Clarke has done with the program especially in recruiting going into this season has been incredible in the contributions the Bold are getting from their rookies, and in a OUA West that is a constant battle between TMU, Brock and McMaster, TMU might just have the edge with what they’re getting up and down their roster.

Catrina Garvey has to be the favourite for OUA Rookie of the Year with the start she’s had. Her three point shot has been a massive facet of the Bold’s offence, and her mixed in with the veterans TMU has returning like Jayme Foreman makes TMU a team that will probably be there for the division in the end.

The Bold are 2-0 with two double-digit wins over the Lakehead Thunderwolves. With the Carly Clarke effect, the shooting of Jayme Foreman and Catrina Garvey, the defensive tenacity and effort plays of Kaillie Hall, and the increasing contributions of players like Hailey Franco-DeRyck, TMU has all that it takes to gain the edge over their opponents in the OUA Central.

OUA West likes to make things messy

Between Windsor, Waterloo and Guelph, if you go to play against a OUA West team, there’s a good chance you’re not going to be able to run your sets smoothly, and the division may produce three of the top 10 if not top 5 defences in the OUA this year.

The Lancers have played 8 games including preseason, and they’ve held their opponent to under 70 in 6 of those 8 games. With a 13-point win over the Mustangs to start the season and a 79-61 win over Laurier this past weekend, Windsor is holding opponents to a 35 field goal percentage while winning the rebounding battle, showing a path to victory that plays off disrupting their opponent.

Through preseason and their first games against Ottawa and Carleton, Guelph has proved that one of their main strengths is their defence. The Gryphons held Ottawa to 21 per cent shooting and Carleton 39, often forcing longer range shots and using the length of players like Trinity Papamandjaris and Julia Colavecchia to deny second chance opportunities.

In a rematch with the York Lions who the Waterloo Warriors saw in the preseason, Waterloo held the Lions to 29 per cent shooting and won the rebounding battle 42-27. With players like Summer Pahl controlling the perimeter and Jaime Newell being the anchor at the rim, Waterloo plays loose defensively and causes a lot of disruption in the perimeter passing of their opponents, leading to transition opportunities for players like Ghiselle Poblete.

The OUA West has three teams that feed their offence off their defence, and three teams that aren’t afraid to match the physicality of their opponent. Whether it’s the Warriors who defend with all five seemingly on a chain, the Lancers with their press defence or the Gryphons who clog the paint and force teams to be one dimensional, the OUA West is shaping up to have three of the league’s top defences, making it a tough division to play.