The Brock Badgers women's basketball team has moved one step closer in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs.
In front of an energetic Bob Davis Gymnasium crowd, the No. 6 seed Brock Badgers women's basketball team defeated the visiting No. 11 seed McMaster Marauders 76-63 on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
"McMaster obviously got us in two games during the OUA season, but I think we were ready," said head coach Shae Dheensaw. "We were built for this moment. So as great as it feels, it's not a surprise. We were ready to take it to whoever was in front of us."
Madalyn Weinert continued to solidify her status as one of the top players in the conference and in the country with a career-high 37-point performance and a team-high 17 rebounds.
"She's unstoppable, and anytime she sees single coverage, she knows what to do," Dheensaw said. "She's as good as it gets in this country and I think she's just constantly proving that day in and day out. As much as it's a record-setting night for her, it's not a surprise."
In the first quarter, Jamie Addy went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc for an electric shooting display, leading the Badgers with 14 of their 26 first-quarter points as they held a slim three-point lead.
Neither team could gain a significant advantage in the second quarter, with shooting struggles the main culprit as the Badgers shot 33.3 per cent from the field while the Maruaders managed just 25 per cent.
After holding a five-point halftime lead at 40-35, the Badgers extended their margin towards the latter stages of the third quarter to seven when Addy knocked down a jumper for her 19th point of the game, which was one short of tying a career high.
"Jamie has that natural charisma that I think our team needs at times," Dheensaw said. "When she nails shots, it just gets us to exactly where we want to be and exactly who we are as a team."
The Marauders trimmed the lead to one early in the fourth quarter, but Weinert took over, scoring 17 of her 37 points during that stretch to help the Badgers pull away for a 13-point victory.
Three-point shooting was key in the win as the Badgers went 10-for-32 for 31.3 percent from beyond the arc compared to 3-for-30 for 15 per cent for the Marauders.
With the win, the Badgers snapped a two-game losing streak to the Marauders, falling recently during the Paint the Meridian Red game 86-72 on Jan. 31 and in an overtime battle 75-69 on Nov. 1.
The Badgers now advance to the quarterfinals where they will take on the Windsor Lancers on Saturday, Feb. 21 at the Toldo Lancer Centre at 7 p.m. The last time these two teams played, Brock bested Windsor 77-64 in a home matchup on Nov. 14.
"We've got to be us and stick to what got us to this point," Dheensaw said. "It's never about anyone new, it's just us excelling at who we are. We did that against McMaster, and now it's Windsor on Saturday. Hopefully, we continue to be ourselves and do what got us here."
