Tigers drop tournament opener 79-65 to Gryphons

Game recap by: Kirk Jessome

(Halifax, NS) – In the second game of the 34^th annual Centennial Women's Basketball Tournament, presented by Lawtons, the host Dalhousie Tigers faced off against the Guelph Gryphons. A strong second quarter was enough to propel the Gryphons to a 79-65 win.

It was a tight, gritty start to the first few minutes of the game, with some inside play resulting in both trips to the line, and turnovers. An early run by the Gryphons was sparked by a deep shot from Sarah Homes (Welland, ON), helping her team get out to an early 15-8 lead.

The Tigers buckled down late in the quarter on the defensive side, and it resulted in good things on the other end.

Michele Tchiakoua (Montreal, QC) was bearing most of the offensive load in the first quarter for the Tigers, picking up 10 of the team's 17 in the quarter.

At the end of the first, the Gryphons held the lead at 21-17.

Both sides were playing tough defence to start the second quarter, resulting in both sides forcing up some low-percentage shots.

But once again the three-point shot was what sparked a run for the Gryphons, this time off the hands of Ivana Vujadinovic (Burlingotn, ON), who also scored the next six points after that to bring the Gryphons up 32-21. The run was capped off by a massive block by Modupe Okeowo (Cambrige, ON) that ended up in the court side seats.

The Tigers were getting open shots from the corners, but the shooting touch was cold in the quarter, being held to just 11 points in the quarter.

Sarah Homes capped off the half for the Gryphons with a buzzer beating layup to put them up 44-28 over the Tigers.

The Tigers had a great start to the second half on the defensive end, forcing three turnovers in the opening two minutes, and converting on the other end.

Meghan Greenland (St. John's, NL) checked into the game midway through the third quarter, and immediately made an impact in knocking down back to back shots from deep for the Tigers.

The second of those shots was answered right away by Homes, but then Sophie Gaube (Hubley, NS) hit one of her own, with the back and forth bringing the Tigers back within five.

Sarah Homes was almost single-handedly breaking Guelph out of their scoring slump, hitting two shots from deep, as well as another midrange jumper to extend the lead back to 57-49 after the Tigers had it within just one.

The two teams continued to battle back and forth in the final quarter, trading baskets throughout with Homes getting it done for Guelph, and Gaube stepping up for the Tigers.

A deep shot from Hannah Chadwick (Toronto, ON) brought the Tigers within seven with just four minutes to go, but the Gryphons picked up six unanswered points immediately after to put the game out of reach.

Time ran out on this one, with the Gryphons taking the 79-65 win.

The Tigers will take on Saint Mary's tomorrow at 8:00, while Guelph will face Windsor at 6:00.