Warriors recap: Nov. 29-30
Justin Gec
| December 2, 2024
With the holidays right around the corner, the Warriors had their eyes set on finishing strong as the court sports wrapped up the remainder of their games in the 2024 calendar year. Now that December is upon us, things are heating up in U Sports athletics.
Friday, Nov. 29
Kicking things off, the women’s basketball team hit the road as they were set to take on the University of Nipissing Lakers. The Warriors came out hot as they outscored the Lakers 20-9 in the first quarter, but the Lakers didn’t go out without a fight as they climbed back outscoring the Warriors 18-9 in the fourth. It was ultimately too little too late as the Warriors were able to come out on top 61-50. Alyssa Renaud led the way in scoring as she dropped 15 adding four rebounds, one assist and a steal. Nehita Oko-Oboh and Jaimesen Newell held it down in the paint as they combined for 21 rebounds, 18 points, and three blocks.
The men’s team also hit the road travelling to North Bay to take on the Lakers. Similar to the women’s team, the Warriors came out firing and didn’t look back. The Lakers held on tight and kept fighting but ultimately came up short falling to the Warriors 72-67. Isaiah McRae led the way with 17 points, four rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Christian Craciun was also all over the stat sheet as he dropped 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The women’s volleyball was back in action at PAC as they took to the court to face off with the University of Trent Excalibur for a Friday night matchup. The Warriors posted a dominant performance, outsourcing the Excalibur’s in total 75-51 defeating them in all three sets 25-13, 27-25, and 25-13 respectively. Rachel Meilikhan and Sarah Hewer led the way with nine and eight kills a piece, Madison Seo was the team’s best friend and she provided 21 assists, Alex Sinik wasn’t afraid to lay it on the line as she sold out for 12 digs. The Warriors won 3-0.
Following the women’s game, the men’s volleyball team took to the PAC hardwood to take on the University of Trent Excalibur. The Warriors came out hot and defeated the Excalibur in the first two sets 25-18 and 25-21 respectively. Trent bounced back and took the Warriors out in a close third set 25-23. In set four the Warriors dominated, outsourcing the Trent Excalibur 25-15 coming out on top 3-1 over the Trent Excalibur’s. Liam Macarthur had a dominant night at the net accounting for 20 kills. Cohen Peters posted a strong performance accounting for 41 assists.
The women’s hockey team took to the road as they travelled down the 401 to take on the TMU bold. The Warriors posted a truly dominant performance, knocking off the Bold 5-1. Emma Thornton led the way as far as goals go with two. Leah Herrfort, Nikki McDonald, and Lyndsy Acheson all added another each. Kara Mark had another strong performance in the net as she stopped 20 of the 21 shots she faced. The Warriors remain hot with their fifth win in a row.
Men’s hockey hit the road as they travelled to Kingston to take on the RMC Paladins. This game was a nail-biter as the first three frames left the Warriors and Paladins tied 1-1. Just over a minute in the OT frame, the Warriors were able to find the back of the net and knocked off the Paladins 2-1. Kieran Ruscheinski was the player of the game as he accounted for the only two majors the Warriors needed. The Warriors had a strong night on the penalty kill going 7/8 and Dan Murphy had a strong day between the pipes stopping 41 of the 42 shots he faced.
Saturday, Nov. 30th
The women’s basketball team wrapped up their time up north as they took on the University of Trent Voyagers for a Saturday night matchup in Sudbury. This game kept the fans on the edge of their seat as the first four quarters solved nothing. An overtime (OT) period was needed to determine the better team on this particular day. Unfortunately, Laurentian outscored the Warriors 10-5 in the OT period and came out on top 75-70. Alyssa Renaud led the way with 16 points, and Oko-Oboh had another strong day in the paint as she squeezed 13 boards. The Warriors go into the Holiday break 5-6 and will be back in action on January 10th on home court as they take on the University of Windsor Lancers.
Similar to the women, the men’s team wrapped up their road trip up north with an evening matchup against the Laurentian Voyageurs. The Warriors got out to a slow start that seemed to carry on with them throughout the entire game. Being outscored 35-15 in the first half, the Warriors could never really find their footing and dropped to the Voyageurs 72-34. Isaiah Mcrae led the way with seven points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. The Warriors stumble into the break 5-6 and will be back in action on Jan. 10 on home court as they take on the University of Windsor Lancers.
Women’s volleyball was back in action as they finished up their doubleheader against the University of Trent Excalibur. The ladies picked up right where they left off on Friday, and posted another dominant performance sweeping all three sets 25-13, 25-13, and 25-15 respectively. Rachel Meilikhan had another standout performance as she accounted for nine kills, five digs and three aces. The Warriors move to 9-2 on the season and go into the break ranked third in the province. They will be back in action on home court on Jan. 17 against the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
The men’s volleyball team was also back in action at PAC as they finished up their back-back matchup against the University of Trent Excalibur. Similar to the women’s team, the men were able to knock off the Excalibur for a second time in a row 3-1. The Warriors won the first 2 sets 25-12, and 25-20 respectively. The Excalibur bounced back, defeating the Warriors 25-17 in the third set but the Warriors answered and put the Excalibur away for good as they won set four 25-18. Liam MacArthur had a strong day as he accounted for 11 kills, eight digs and three assists. The Warriors roll into the break 6-5 winning back-to-back games. They will be back in action on home court on Jan. 17 against the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
The women’s hockey team finished up their time in the province capital as they had a Saturday night matchup against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. This OUA heavyweight matchup did not disappoint, the Varsity Blues were able to jump out to an early lead finding the back of the net just over a minute into the first frame. The second period remained scoreless – it wasn’t until early in the third that Keiara Raitt was able to find the back of the net on the power play for the Warriors tying the score 1-1. Unfortunately, the Varsity Blues were able to find the back of the net just over five minutes into OT and knocked the Warriors off 2-1. The Warriors will look to bounce back as they travel to Thunder Bay to take on the Nipissing Lakers on Dec. 4 before they break for the holidays.
The men’s hockey team finished up their time in Kingston as they faced off against the University of Queen’s Golden Gales. The first frame remained scoreless as it wasn’t until 16 minutes into the second that the Gales opened up the scoring. Tate Popple scored a beauty under two minutes later to bring the game back to a tie at 1-1. Queen’s opened up the third period with a major putting them ahead 2-1, Jaxon Murray responded and tied the game at two, with just over 10 minutes remaining, unfortunately, the Golden Gales responded and found the back of the net less than three minutes later. This proved to be enough to knock off the Warriors as the Golden Gales came out on top 3-2. The Warriors will have one more opportunity to get in the win column before they break for the holidays as they face off against local rivals, Laurier Golden Hawks, at home on Dec. 5.
