It's been 20 years or so since the Laurentian Voyageurs women's basketball team last hosted a playoff game.
On Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Ben Avery Gym, coach Jason Hurley will not only welcome this opportunity but will do so riding some recent momentum.
Over the course of the weekend, the Voyageurs, who finished the season with an impressive record of 13-9, battled their way to that mark by taking down both the Carleton Ravens (76-66 - final record of 16-6) and the Ottawa Gee Gees (73-54 - final record of 11-11) in back to back home games.
Laurentian leaned heavily upon their veteran one-two punch of Claudia Pellerin (26 pts) and Emilie Lafond (19) in upsetting the high-flying Ravens, with Cadence Pecore also hitting double digits at 13.
Molly Adams and Audrey-Anne Labreche chipped in with six points each as the Voyageurs mugged Carleton right out of the gate, up 20-11 after one quarter and 38-24 at the half.
Kyana-Jade Poulin countered with 22 points in a losing cause for the visitors as Laurentian outshot the Ravens by a wide margin (45.1% to 27.6%) as well as converting much better from distance (37.5% vs 20.0%).
Riding that wave, the Voyageurs broke open a 20-18 affair after ten minutes of play, outscoring the Gee Gees 23-8 in the second quarter and never looking back one night later.
Emilie Lafond (26), Claudia Pellerin (17) and Molly Adams (12) all hit double digits with secondary scoring contributed from the likes of Megan Axiak (6) and Madison Peak (6).
Once again, the L.U. side held the hot hands from floor, posting a field goal percentage of 41.9% and three point conversion rate of 33.3% (versus 29.6% and 29.2% respectively for U of O).
The locals were also notably more efficient from the free throw line (13/15 = 86.7% v 15/26 = 57.7%) and also dominated on the boards (41 rebounds to 26), with Lafond and Pellerin both hauling in a dozen rebounds apiece.
"This was a slow build," noted coach Hurley. "Like any discomfort, there was resistence. I think it's been the daily habits that our veterans have instilled on our talented group of first years (that has been key)."
"Em Lafond and Claudia Pellerin are amongst the elite of the OUA," added Hurley. "Our supporting players embrace their role every day. We've shot the ball well. We've taken care of the ball and we've shared it."
Making the trek north on Wednesday are the York Lions (11-11), with Hurley noting the challenge that will be present in the form of Kiera Leveridge (14.8 points per game).
"We need to take care of the details in order to be successful on Wednesday," he said.
With a pair of local products leading the way - both Lafond and Pellerin are graduates of Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School - Hurley is hoping for a large and boisterous crowd on hand to help push his team over the top.
Also in playoff action this week is local Annie Balfe (Western), dressing all 22 games this year and finishing the season with 94 points, while Bree Bourget of the top-seeded Queen's Gaels (21-1) is recovering from a knee injury this year.
