The Fanshawe Falcons captured the 2016 OCAA women’s basketball bronze medal on Saturday evening. The Falcons earned a 67-56 comeback victory over the Algonquin Thunder on the strength of a dominating fourth quarter.

Fanshawe outscored the Thunder 26-6 in the fourth quarter to secure an 11 point victory and the bronze medal. After the first quarter finished tied at 16, the Thunder stormed ahead to an 11 point lead and led 35-24 at the halftime break. However, the Falcons would not go away. They cut the Thunder lead by two heading into the fourth quarter, where they would take over the game.

The Falcons brought a high tempo approach to the fourth. They had 11 steals in the final frame, and forced 12 total turnovers. Victoria Racine led the way in the fourth for the Falcons with six of her 10 total points. Mikhaila Wright was named player of the game for Fanshawe. The OCAA west rookie of the year scored 14 points while adding three steals and three assists in the contest. Rachel Adkins, with 12 points, and Laura Vere with 10 points both reached double digits for Fanshawe. 

Algonquin, who lost an emotional overtime heartbreaker in the semi-final against the Mohawk Mountaineers, simply ran out of steam down the stretch. Jeylinh Bui, the east divison rookie of the year, had 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the contest. Lauren Tebrake, the Thunder player of the game, had a game high 14 points to go along with five rebounds. 

For the Fanshawe Falcons this is their first medal since the 2013-13 season where they collected silver after dropping the championship game to these same Algonquin Thunder. On the other side this is the first time since the 2008-09 season that the Thunder did not win a medal. Over that five year span Alqonquin collected four golds and one bronze medal.