Streak ends at 14 but resolve continues

The Brock Badgers Women’s Basketball team faced a week of strenuous games and strong opponents as their winning streak came to an abrupt end on Jan. 26 on the road.

To start the week, the Badgers hosted the Western University Mustangs (7-7 OUA West) in a closely contested game. Strong guard play from a well-rounded Western team kept the Badgers on their heels throughout the match.

Western guard Jenny Vaughan (Dundas, Ont.), who led her team in scoring by posting 15 points in the contest, commented on the strong play of the Badgers saying “We played okay. I don’t think we hit a three tonight, that doesn’t help against a team like Brock. They make you take hard shots and they make you work for every possession.”

By half time the Badgers’ truculence had helped them build a 10 point lead.

The third quarter however, belonged to the Mustangs as they went on an eight point run bringing the game to within two.

Badgers Head Coach Si Khounviseth commented on the demeanor and composure of the team to retain this lead stating “[w]e struggled a little bit in the third quarter, they made a great run as we knew they would. I thought we didn’t do a good job dealing with pressure. That’s a great team – very talented. I found in the fourth quarter there was better resolve [on Brock’s part].”

When asked what he did to reassure the team’s confidence, Khounviseth said “All I said was – listen mistakes are going to happen but we just have to keep playing through when we screw up. You have to just have a better resolve and defend even harder and get a stop on defense. That’s how you make up for a mistake.”

In the fourth quarter the Badgers came back to life with many defensive stops and tough rebounding that turned the tide back in their favour. Leading the charge in the fourth quarter push was Badgers guard Kayla Santilli (Brantford, Ont.), who finished the game with 16 points, five assists and five rebounds.

Santilli drew an offensive foul against Western to swing the tempo of the game with less than two minutes remaining in the final quarter. This defensive stop was the dagger to any hopes Western had of a comeback.

Santilli commented on her fourth quarter game changing play, saying “I think as a defender I’ve always been feisty and aggressive, and I love playing defense. So when I got her posting up against me that’s exactly what I wanted to do – swing the game and take that charge. It hurt a lot but it was definitely worth it. I just have to play through every call. That’s what my role is on the team, to come out and be mentally tough”.

Another Badger player who really left her imprint on the defensive end of the court and played a large role in securing the victory was Badgers guard Annie McNeely (Kingston, Ont.). McNeely finished the game with a game-high four steals.

McNeely was available for comment after the game, stating “I feel like I’m a role player on the team. I’m not a big scorer. I’ll shoot the odd one make the odd one. I think the fourth quarter is always the most intense quarter. The fourth quarter is where we excel. I think we’ve been more of a fourth quarter team. Fast, strong and we can push through a lot of things.”

After sealing the deal on free throws, the Badgers where able to evade losing their streak to the Mustangs as they won the game 65 – 57.

On Jan. 26 the Badgers completely fell apart as the lost to the Marauders 63 – 38.

The Badgers shot a season-low 22.1 per cent from the field going 15-for-68. They also shot a season low 1-for-14 (7.1per cent) from the three-point range, while shooting 70.0 per cent (7-for-10) from the free throw line.

The Badgers will look to bounce back to their winning ways on Jan. 30 as they travel to Waterloo to take on the Warriors. Brock’s next home game will take place Feb. 13 at 6:00 p.m. at the Bob Davis Gymnasium where they will host Waterloo.