GUELPH, Ont. - A season that was full of ups and downs for the Warriors came to an end in a game that fittingly saw big momentum swings either way. In the end, a big third-quarter run from the Guelph Gryphons proved too much to overcome for the black and gold, who fell on Wednesday night, 77-66 on the road.
It was a roller-coaster final weekend of the regular season for Waterloo, who had to wait until Sunday's game between Lakehead and Toronto – the very last fixture on the OUA schedule – to clinch a playoff berth. They came in as the 12 seed, setting up a matchup with fifth-place Guelph, led by former Warriors Associate Coach Christine Hyde in her first year as the Gryphons' Head Coach.
Waterloo started off hot from the field, shooting 50% in the first quarter, and getting the whole team involved with six different players putting up points in the opening frame. Guelph was equal to the task shooting 42% but with twice the attempts.
Third-year centre Keryl Ousey led the way with nine points on 4-5 shooting in the first, and her Gryphons had a 25-14 lead through ten minutes of play thanks to a 10-2 run to close out the period.
The 6'3" Ousey was held to zero points in the second as the Warriors went big, with their three tallest players – Jaime Newell (Brussels, Ont./), Carina Fiore (Newmarket, Ont./), and Kymora Stafford (Toronto, Ont./) – sharing the court for most of the quarter.
Fiore also made her presence felt on the offensive end with a quarter-high six points, as Waterloo chipped away at the deficit and went into halftime trailing 45-33.
Unfortunately for the black and gold, the biggest change to come out of the break was their shooting going cold, as they went 4-15 from the field in the third quarter. Simran Lail (Brampton, Ont./) was a bright spot scoring six of her team-high 12 points in the frame, but it wasn't enough to stop the Gryphons from taking control of the game, and the scoreboard read 66-45 heading into the fourth.
With their season on the line, no one could doubt the effort the Warriors showed in the final period, particularly on defence. They came away with eight steals in the fourth quarter alone and forced 13 turnovers. They struggled to turn those opportunities into points, however, once again shooting below 30% from the field.
Second half shooting woes and an inability to turn good defence into offence were the story of this game. The Warriors shooting dropped from 43% to 26% from the field after halftime, and they went 0-5 from three-point range in the second half.
In what will go down as her final game in the black and gold, Newell was her usual reliable self on the glass, pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds. Her 11.1 rebounds per game ranked fifth in the OUA this season, and her career-high 20 rebounds against Laurentian in November was the fourth highest single-game total across the conference. Her name is etched across the Warriors record books after an incredible four-season career.
This marks the fifth straight season Waterloo has lost in their opening game of the playoffs, though they earned a bye to the quarterfinals in 2024.
Hyde and the Gryphons will move on to face the defending OUA and U SPORTS finalist Carleton Ravens in Ottawa on Saturday.
