Written by Tristan Forde
If you didn't catch the Brock Badgers' displays of dominance this weekend, you missed witnessing a team on the verge of rewriting the narrative of this season’s OUA competition.
Sleeper teams are an annual occurrence, but the emergence of an unexpected contender could be on the horizon this season, and Brock is at the forefront. Brock has put the OUA on notice with a few of their recent performances.
The burning question is: are they the real deal? Let’s dive in.
Leading into the season, it’s safe to say that the Badgers weren’t on the radars of many after a less-than-mediocre preseason saw them go 2-6 with a few close games and a couple of absolute blowouts.
One of those blowouts came at the hands of the current No. 1 Carleton Ravens.
Fast forward to the third week of the season, and the Badgers found themselves in overtime with those same Carleton Ravens after a back-and-forth battle.
For a while, it seemed as if they were going to hand the defending national champions their first loss of the season, until the nation's leading scorer Tito Akinnusi, got ejected in overtime and suspended for one game.
In the end, the Badgers couldn't finish the job, but kept it close, losing to the Ravens 81-79.
Chatter around the league chalked their performance up to a fluke after they went across town and suffered a significant 76-54 loss to Ottawa. A big part of that loss was likely the absence of Akinnusi, as she averages 21.0 PPG and 10.0 RPG.
The Badgers are 0-2 without her in the lineup this season.
Brock bounced back big time after their disappointing road trip to Ottawa, returning home this past weekend, and hosting the No. 3 Queen’s Gaels.
Now, this is where it gets exciting.
After another back-and-forth first half - that saw the Gaels leading into the halftime break - the Badgers came out in the second half and dominated the Gaels. Outscoring Queen’s 52-31 in the third and fourth quarters, Brock presented the Gaels with their first loss of the season.
Key Takeaway: Brock held almost every Gael to under double-digits - except for fifth-year wing Laura Donovon - which has proven to be a tall task for the OUA this season.
The sharpshooting guard Angeline Campbell led the way with 19 PTS, providing the Badgers with timely buckets that helped them pull away from the Gaels. Akinussi had a double-double with 11 PTS and 16 REB, while Madelyn Weinert, who had an excellent start to the season, was doing it all for the Badgers, giving them 12 PTS, 6 REB and 7 AST.
Hold on.
They didn't stop there.
Saturday night, the Badgers got the chance to play on the big stage at the Meridian Centre downtown St. Catherine’s - home of the CEBL’s Niagara River Lions - and they did everything but disappoint.
McMaster came to town and got sent packing after getting held to just 7 PTS in the fourth quarter. The game was close throughout, with the Marauders having a small advantage after two-quarters of play. But, Brock came out flying in the second half once again.
This time, the aforementioned Akinussi and Weinert were balling out of their minds. Akinussi scored a whopping 37 PTS without even attempting a three-ball. Weinert was one assist short of a triple-double and scored 25 PTS with 16 REB to go along with it. The duo put on a scoring masterclass and solidified themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
So, let’s get back to the question: is Brock the real deal?
The jury has deliberated.
And the verdict is in.
Guilty.
The Badgers will be a problem for the OUA for the rest of the season. As long as they can manage to stay healthy and their stars keep delivering the production they have, look for the Badgers’ to be banging with the best of them in the OUA come playoff time.