Wolves’ late rally stuns Georgian College in women’s basketball

The Algonquin Wolves women’s basketball team pulled off a dramatic 58-53 comeback win after trailing the Georgian Grizzlies for nearly the entire game on Nov. 15 in the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre at Algonquin College.

The Wolves entered the game coming off a tough loss the previous week to Loyalist College, falling by 20 points. Early on, it looked like they carried the same energy into this matchup, trailing for three straight quarters and not looking like the same team everyone had been watching after going undefeated in their previous regular season.

The Wolves knew, going into the locker room at the half, adjustments had to be made to stay in the game and contain Georgian’s leading scorer Sydney Shawyer.

“One thing was just about staying composed, don’t lose your composure, play with patience, play with confidence,” coach Jaime McLean said to his players at halftime.

Even with the pressure rising, the players believed they could find a way to win.

“I think a lot of it was just taking our experience from past games,” said Wolves guard Taryn Mitchell.

“We did lose for the first time (this year), so we don’t like that feeling,” she said.

“We took that feeling of loss into the second half thinking it was possible we could lose, but didn’t want to. So, we put our heads together, said this is a feeling we don’t want again, and we went out and did it.”

Not only did Mitchell demonstrate a great attitude going into the second half, but she was also the team’s top performer, playing a major role in the Wolves’ victory with 17 points, four assists, six rebounds and three steals.

By the third quarter, the Wolves had clearly made defensive adjustments to counter the Grizzlies’ aggressive offence. Despite the shift, they still faced an 11-point deficit heading into the fourth.

In the fourth-quarter one player stood out among the rest. Cianah Miller, who had a slow start to the game, turned it around quick, transforming into a fourth-quarter hero.

Miller had an exceptional finish in to the game, scoring 10 points in the final quarter and being the difference-maker, allowing the Wolves to gain the momentum they needed. She finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals.

“I knew that we all started off a little bit slow, maybe a bit of nerves, especially me,” said Miller.

“Making that adjustment after the first half and getting back into our rhythm, seeing what their defence is like, and then playing and adjusting to that,” she said.

McLean left impressed with the grit of his team coming away with the win.

“It was a big maturity win today,” said McLean.