It had been over 600 days since the women's basketball team last stepped onto a basketball court for a regular season game, and the black and gold made it worth the wait, defeating the visiting Windsor Lancers 64-61, their first win over the Lancers since 2007. It was also the first win for the Warriors on the brand-new Carl Totzke Court that was commemorated following the game with a ceremony celebrating the legendary life of Carl Totzke. To complete a night of firsts, it was also the first regular season wins for Head Coach
Jessica Roque and Associate Coach Hayley Robertson.
It was a big second quarter that gave the Warriors momentum as they outscored the visitors 21-12 to take a 37-27 lead into the break. A buzzer beater three from
Kaitlyn Overeem (Brantford, ON/) was huge to give the Warriors a 10-point lead into the second half.
In the second half the Lancers picked up their defensive game holding the Warriors to just eight points in the 3
rd quarter, but a big bucket from
Sonja Matthews (Cambridge, ON/) at the buzzer gave the Warriors a three point advantage, 45-42 heading into the final quarter.
In the final 10 minutes, Waterloo got some massive boards from
Maddy Adams (Drumbo, ON/) and clutch shooting from Overeem and
Meghan Sharp (Kitchener, ON/) as the Warriors held on to their three point lead to secure the 64-61 victory.
Leading the way for the Warriors was
Vanessa Hughes (Hamilton, ON/) who put up 16 points and added five rebounds, one block, and two steals. Adams was next with 12 points and five rebounds while
Mackenzie Obermayer (Hanover, ON/) put up 11 points and Overeem had 10.
The Warriors will travel to Windsor on Saturday to face the Lancers in the backend of their home and home. Tipoff is set for 6pm.
