Posted by Sudbury Northern Life 
After an up and down season which saw them play as a nationally-ranked team, the Lady Vees were looking to make a deep playoff run, starting with a win Wednesday night over the visiting Ryerson Rams.
Despite a gut wrenching performance from Katie Goggins, the Lady Vees were toppled by the Rams, crushing their playoff hopes, by a score of 74-60.
The OUA East quarter final opened with a frantic pace, as both teams looked to establish an early lead. Ryerson opened with a hot hand, connecting for a pair of buckets on their opening two possessions, but were quickly answered by the Lady Vees.
After several minutes of trading baskets, the pace slowed, until an injured Mylaine Mageau (Sudbury, Ont.) dropped a difficult lay up to tie the game, bringing the crowd to life. Unfortunately for the Lady Vees, some sloppy turnovers late in the frame would allow Ryerson to go on an 8-0 run to close the quarter leading by 10.
The second quarter opened with Katie Goggins (Hanmer, Ont.) who was extremely ill, picking up the first of her 10 points on the night, in what was a remarkable performance from her.
Ryerson was quick to answer and would continue to create a number of open looks, while forcing turnovers on the defensive end. Laurentian was able to keep pace with Ryerson, but unable to gain any significant ground, as the half would end with the Rams up 32-24.
The third frame would start off much the same as the second, as Norma-Jean Roberts (Burnaby, B.C.) dropped an early three ball, but was quickly answered by Ryerson's Kaitlyn Taylor (Sydney, N.S.).
Laurentian pressed hard to claw back and tie things up, but continued to give up costly turnovers, abolishing any chance of going on a major run.  The Lady Vees were able to however, build up an 8-0 run, capped by a Goggins three pointer which closed the gap to just a single point with 4:40 left to go.
Just as the Lady Vees were within striking distance, Ryerson would quickly answer, putting up six points in the last thirty seconds to restore a comfortable lead of seven.
The final frame started off strong for Laurentian, going on a small run in the opening minute to get back to within shooting range.  However, seemingly out of nowhere, the Rams would go on a 14-3 run. After an 18 point lead had been built up, the Lady Vees seemed to lose all of their intensity, and the Rams continued their strong play, not giving Laurentian any hope of getting back into the game.
As the final seconds wound down, rookie Kyla Csumrik (Orillia, Ont.) put back a three ball, in what was the final bucket of the Lady Vees season. As the final buzzer sounded, the Ryerson Rams would be moving on to the next round, beating up on the Lady Vees, 74-60.
"It was a tough game. We've been up and down all year, and the game was kind of a snap shot of our season," said Lady Vees' head coach Mike Clarke, in a release. "We were there for a bit, but we made a lot of mental errors."
The Lady Vees ended the season with a 10-12 record, finishing fourth in the OUA East. Laurentian will have a large number of players who are eligible to return to play for the blue and gold next year, and will be determined to avenge a difficult loss to end their 2008 - 2009 campaign.
