The Brock Badgers women’s basketball team hosted the York Lions in an unusual Wednesday evening game on January 28th in the Bob Davis Gymnasium. Coming into the contest, the two teams were tied for second place in the OUA Central Division with a 10-6 record, looking to gain an edge over one another as the playoffs loom.
The game featured one of the most anticipated matchups of two of the greatest players in OUA history: Brock’s Madalyn Weinert faced off against York’s Kiara Leveridge. This game could potentially be the last two the seniors will ever play against each other, barring a postseason matchup.
Leveridge wasted no time getting on the board as she scored the first bucket of the game inside the paint shortly after the opening tip. York would continue the trend of inside scoring after Ella Okubasu scored back-to-back layups over Weinert, giving the two-time OUA M.V.P. a taste of her own medicine.
Brock’s first field goal would be a flashy one, as Ava Stranges found Janee Harrison from half court for a wide-open layup down low.
The game was relatively close through the first quarter, after both teams traded baskets. Things started to get physical, however, as York really began to punish Brock for their lack of box outs, culminating in numerous second chance opportunities for Okubasu. This led Badger Head Coach Shae Dheensaw to yell at her superstar forward, Weinert, for a lack of effort on the glass, something you rarely see.
That encounter with her head coach seemed to flip a switch in Weinert, as demonstrated by her unrivalled determination on the glass for the remainder of the game.
For the rest of the quarter, York held a steady lead as Brock couldn’t buy a bucket. The Badgers were getting good looks but making some uncharacteristic mistakes, including missed layups, dropped passes and silly turnovers.
The Lions led 21-15 after the first frame.
Shailah Adams got the second quarter started for Brock with a three-pointer that brought some life back into the Badger bench. The excitement was short-lived, as Leveridge would score a tough and one that brought York’s lead right back to six. York’s physicality continued into the second frame, as they were hounding Brock after every rebound, not letting the home team breathe.
Mikayla Williams answered back with a strong and one that sparked the Bob Davis crowd, sparking a soon-to-be run that changed the course of the game. For the rest of the quarter, Brock was dominant on both sides of the ball. Weinert finally got a groove on offence, leading her team to a 25-8 quarter. York couldn’t buy a bucket and Brock was taking full advantage, including a late three-pointer from Jamie Addy that extended the Badger lead to 11 going into the break.
Just like the start of the second quarter, Adams opened the frame with a jumpshot, this time a smooth mid-range to put Brock up 13. This was not a sign of what was to come, because both teams couldn’t get anything to drop for the next four minutes. Just when it looked like Leveridge was going to get a rhythm back for her team with a wide-open layup, Weinert came in from nowhere, sending her shot to the wall with an electrifying block that even got a reaction from her coach.
To put a stamp on York’s offensive struggles, Leveridge received a technical foul after a verbal altercation with a Badger player. Leveridge was doing everything in her power to will her team back to life. Sevene Grewal got the message, as she scored a clutch and one with under 10 seconds left to pull the Lions within eight to end the frame.
Brock still led 50-42 with 10 minutes to go.
The dynamic duo of Weinert and Addy was on full display after the two connected on a pair of nice plays in the opening minutes of the quarter. First, Addy found Weinert for a layup off a sneaky steal, then shortly after, she found Weinert again, this time threading the needle to her on a backdoor cut.
The fourth quarter belonged to the 2025 OUA M.V.P. Weinert carried her team down the stretch, scoring some ridiculous buckets in the process. This included a euro step and one and three scores in a row to extend the Badger lead. This stretch of dominance was all in a matter of two and a half minutes, sucking the life out of York’s defence and catapulting her team closer to victory.
One Stranges three pointer later, and the deal was sealed. Brock secured the win at home and improved their record to 11-6.
If Weinert didn’t already have a strong case for her third straight M.V.P., then this game may have cemented it. She put up an absurd stat line of 36 points and 25 rebounds against the Lions, playing arguably her best game yet in a career filled with so many of them.
If you were in attendance on Jan. 29, then you were lucky enough to witness one of the best individual performances in recent OUA women’s basketball history. If Brock can keep rolling with this momentum, there could be some incoming upsets once the playoffs begin.