Grizzlies guard Hannah Pearsall has a combined 52 points against George Brown this season

A tough stretch for George Brown’s women’s basketball team continued on Friday, as the visiting Huskies lost 83-58 to the Georgian Grizzlies.

The Huskies were unable to overcome a flat-footed first quarter, one which saw them behind 28-14 after 10 minutes of play. George Brown temporarily stemmed the tide owing to increased vigor in the second, the only period in which the visitors outscored Georgian.

This momentum failed to translate after halftime, and the Grizzlies again increased their lead as the third quarter went on. By time of George Brown’s fourth quarter push, the hosts had settled into a comfortable rhythm and the result was a fait accompli.

“It was a great game overall,” said Grizzlies second-year guard Katrina Kerekesch, who posted season highs of 16 points and seven rebounds. “The Huskies have always been a great competitor for us. We just played together, we played as a team, we took our time and we depended on each other.”

Hannah Pearsall again proved an unstoppable force against the Huskies. After scoring 24 points versus George Brown on Nov. 26, the Grizzlies guard racked up another 28 on Friday. The Guelph native is more than just a Huskies-killer, trailing only Durham’s Lindsay Panchan and George Brown’s own Tianna Sullivan in points per game across the Ontario Colleges Athletics Association (OCAA).

“She sets the tempo with her energy and her focus every game,” said Grizzlies head coach Andrew Broeren, whose squad improved to 3-6 on the year. “She comes in every game working hard, she never stops, she plays a ton of minutes.”

Huskies guard Andy Ando was the spark plug behind the team’s reinvigorated second quarter. Though Ando wished after the game that she could have brought even more energy to the squad, George Brown head coach Warren Williams praised her for making a big difference.

While Sullivan put in a strong effort, posting a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, George Brown continues to miss first-year swingman Kiyann Grimaldo. Against Georgian on Nov. 26, the Husky put up 10 points and 15 rebounds, the first double-double of her OCAA career. Grimaldo was forced to watch Friday’s rematch from the sidelines, her second game out after suffering an ankle injury at practice.

With the win, Georgian ends 2016 by breaking their home barn goose egg. Heading into Friday’s tilt, the Grizzlies were 2-2 on the road but 0-4 at home, an unusual split the hosts were well aware of.

“It was kind of a weird situation,” said Broeren. “Everybody feels comfortable at home, you wake up in your own bed, these are your own rims. This was something really important for us; we take a lot of pride in our performance at home”.

Now with a record of 1-7, George Brown has one game remaining before the holiday break, hosting the 4-4 Seneca Sting on Dec. 7.