Uzodinma Ukagwu | Sports Editor
Featured Image: The Lions women won their first-round matchup but lost the quarter-final to Ottawa. | Courtesy of YorkU Lions
The Lions men’s and women’s basketball teams participated in the OUA playoffs this week, suffering early exits. The men lost their first-round match 92-77 to Ottawa last Wednesday. The women, on the other hand, shocked Queen’s 76-70 in front of their own crowd on Wednesday to advance to the quarter-final, which they lost on Saturday, 89-53 to Ottawa.
This was the men’s first appearance in the OUA playoffs since the 2014-15 season. To secure the sixth and last OUA East playoff spot, the Lions had to win their final game of the regular season, which they did, defeating cross-town rival U of T 81-79.
The Gee-Gees took control of the first-round game early by building a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter. Ottawa remained imperious in the second quarter, expanding their lead to 19 points, and finishing the half with a 55-36 lead.
The Lions improved slightly in the second half, outscoring Ottawa by four points to finish with some pride, but it was too little too late, as Ottawa cruised to the 92-77 victory, and advanced to the second round.
Despite the loss, a few Lions players produced stellar individual performances, namely Chevon Brown who recorded 25 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, DeAndrae Pierre who had 23 points, five rebounds and two assists, and Gianmarco Luciani who notched 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The women’s game at Queens was a tightly contested battle from start to finish, with the Lions only securing the win in the final quarter of the game.
Cyanna King’s jump shot at the end of the first gave the Lions a 16-14 lead. Queens, however, took a 34-32 lead by the end of the second, outscoring the Lions by four points in that period.
Queens maintained their two-point lead going into the fourth after both teams tied for points in the third. The Lions, however, turned things up a notch in the final frame, coming out firing on all cylinders and outscoring Queens by eight points to win the game 76-70 and advance to the quarter-finals.
The Lions’ outstanding performers in their first-round win were Katrina Collins-Samuels, who recorded 24 points, four assists, and two steals; and Chante Clarke, who had 15 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
In the women’s quarter-final game against Ottawa on Saturday, the Lions’ Cinderella run came to an end as they lost by a wide margin—89-53.
In the first, the Lions and Gee-Gees were evenly matched, as the quarter ended 18-18.
Ottawa, in front of their home crowd, took control of the game in the second and third quarters building a massive, 36-point lead going into the fourth.
The point gap remained the same in the final frame with both teams scoring 20 points and Ottawa securing the victory and the right to advance to the semi-finals.
The Lions players who stood out on Saturday were Lauren Golding, who recorded 12 points, five rebounds, and two steals; and Chante Clarke who had ten points and one rebound.
Despite the early OUA playoffs exits, the Lions men and women can look back and be proud of their achievements this season. The men finished the regular season with an 8-15 record, a huge improvement from their 2-21 record of last year.
The women finished fifth in the OUA East with a 10-13 record, and won their first playoff game since the 2007-08 season.
Both teams will be losing influential graduating players, namely: Chante Clarke, and Haley Bowie for the women, and Gianmarco Luciani, Gene Spagnuolo and Nana Adu-Poku for the men. They will, however, be hoping to build on their achievements this season.
