The Brock Badgers women's rugby team will compete for a provincial bronze medal.

The No. 3-ranked Guelph Gryphons defeated the unranked Badgers 97-12 in the OUA semifinals at Guelph Varsity Field on Saturday.

Head coach Stefanie Pavlovich drew on a lot of positives from the game, including her team holding the perennial powerhouse Gryphons to 19-12 early in the game.

"The first half was so exciting. We kept them in, but that experience will come," said Pavlovich. "Our girls didn't play defeated. They kept trying something new and they tried to readjust, but it's really great for me as a coach to see our goals grow and adjustments we can make on our offensive line. We've had a lot of success there."

Niamh Haughey scored two tries and Meagan Hart added a conversion.

The Badgers remained positive throughout the game and the Brock bench continued to cheer on their teammates.

"We had fun out there," said senior fullback Katelyn Heyens. "I think we learned a lot. This was just a stepping stone to have a chance to compete for a medal. I think we'll get there."

The Brock women's rugby team has steadily improved over the past few seasons. They're a far cry from their winless seasons and now have a chance to compete for an OUA medal.

"I have nothing but great things to say about Stef and her program. She has recruited some great athletes and they were fearless in the breakdown," said Guelph head coach Colette McAuley. "It's no wonder she moved up into our division so quickly as she is engaged with her athletes throughout the school year. That's an important piece that only a few programs are doing. It's not enough to coach them 10 weeks of the year. We play against Brock at every Sevens tournament and I can tell she's building something special there."

Up next, the Badgers (5-1) will face McMaster in the OUA bronze-medal game. Guelph meets Queen's in the championship game.