Queen’s completes the shocking upset

On Saturday afternoon the Wilfrid Laurier University women’s basketball team was stunned as their playoff run came to an abrupt end.


Photo by Jessica Dik
Photo by Jessica Dik

On Saturday afternoon the Wilfrid Laurier University women’s basketball team was stunned as their playoff run came to an abrupt end.

The Hawks lost their quarterfinal game against the Queen’s University Gaels in a double overtime thriller, 85-78. In a tightly contested matchup that saw both teams trade the lead, it was Queen’s that would come out on top, bringing an early ending to the Hawks storied season.

“It was a crazy basketball game,” head coach Paul Falco said after the game.

“It was a game of runs — in a lot of ways we got up and we got down, we found a way to get back in it. We were in trouble in the fourth and in overtime. We knew Queen’s was going to be a tough match.”

“I was proud of the way our girls battled and we didn’t get the breaks when we needed them.”

It was an up-and-down game for both teams. After holding onto the lead after halftime, the Hawks went on a huge run to put some distance on the Gaels in the beginning of the third. The Gaels quickly battled back to erase the lead and took the lead by the end of the quarter. Laurier tied the game up in the final quarter, sending both teams into overtime.

The Hawks had multiple opportunities to end the game, but a missed three-point shot by Nicole Morrison in the fourth quarter and one missed free throw shot by Whitney Ellenor in overtime sent the contest to double overtime. The free throw would have given the hawks the lead with just under three ticks to go.

The Gaels came out firing and secured their spot in the final four, putting an end to Laurier’s season.

This season saw the Hawks break a multitude of records, including recording a team-high 17 wins, climbing to sixth place in the national rankings and ending a four-year home winning streak held by the Windsor Lancers.

Despite losing their shot for a championship banner and a berth into nationals, Osei was optimistic about how far the program has come during her tenure at Laurier.

“When I came to Laurier a lot of that stuff seemed so far away and just to look at how far we’ve come,” she said.

Just that legacy and contribution that they left put so much confidence in us to keep on striving and keep on being a better team each and every year.”

Ellenor, Osei and Jacobs each played their final game for the Hawks on Saturday, as they won’t be able to return next year due to eligibility and graduation.

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