Too long didn't read? Incase you missed it? Help i'm new here? Whatever your reason, I am here to give you a recap of the first half of the OUA women's basketball 2025-26 season so you know some of the bigger storylines as everything gets back underway. Let's work through the season so far and how we got to where we're at.
The season opened with a lot of eyes on the OUA East and the top three teams in the division, the Carleton Ravens and Ottawa Gee-Gees for how they were last season and the Queen's Gaels for the additions they made to the team and how they'd grow coming into another year with the group. Last year's top two in the Ravens and Gee-Gees got off to a tiny bit of a bumpy start in Guelph, Carleton needing a comeback 54-51 to escape with a win and the Gee-Gees falling to the Gryphons. The Gaels on the other hand started their season in Thunder Bay where Kiyara Letlow began her Gaels career leading the team in scoring and sharing the lead in rebounding in a 78-56 win. All three followed their opening game with a win, and for the Gaels, a win would be the only thing they'd see through the first half of the season.
The Gaels and the TMU Bold are the only undefeated teams in the OUA going into January, and TMU by some surprise to people looking at the schedule before the season started, has already played 70 per cent of their divisional games before the second half of the season gets underway. A theme amongst the OUA Central division, a run of divisional games early and the introduction of Myriam Kone set the Bold on a path to where they are now which is the division feels like theirs to lose. A four game lead in the division and a current tiebreaker over both York and Brock who are closest to them, they've set themselves a cushion as they look to keep momentum rolling.
While Queen's and TMU were charging through the league, another divisional battle was taking place, one that came down to the end of the season last year and is looking that way again. The 10-2 Guelph Gryphons hold the OUA West division currently with the Windsor Lancers half of a game behind at 9-2 and having the tiebreaker over Guelph. Both teams were 3-1 going into their meeting on November 7th and through nine steals and seven less turnovers, Windsor squeaked out a 65-59 win to take the first of their two meetings and the current tiebreaker over the Gryphons. As the season went on Windsor would be the only team to lose another game, on the road to the Brock Badgers, getting us to the point we're at now with Guelph's only leg up in the division being an extra game played.
The teams at the top of the division have been taking their different paths towards their reign at the top, and below them different teams had their runs as they battled for positioning. The Laurentian Voyageurs, now third in the OUA East behind Queen's and Carleton won four of their last five games to get themselves to a 6-6 record. The York Lions and Brock Badgers used their effectiveness on the glass to help navigate their way through a bumpy first half of the season, now each 6-4 tied for second in the OUA Central.
If I were to give an award for first half most fun team of the season, a contender would have to be the Western Mustangs. Built similar to Western teams of the past few years with their dependance on guards who can put the ball on the floor and get to the rim, they use a fun combination of transition play and movement in the half court and they're just an energetic mostly young team that can run the floor against many teams. They're now 6-5 and sitting third in the OUA West, two games ahead of another team who's been rather interesting to watch in another division the Toronto Varsity Blues.
4-7 and fourth in the OUA Central, there are two names i'm going to point out to you on the Varsity Blues, Lia Barbieri and Zi Yang Wang. Everyone likes a combination of a point guard and a forward, and those two give a lot of what you can ask for from their positions. Lia's ability to create for others and play off the catch, and Zi Yang Wang's control of the paint and physicality on the glass are a combination inside and outside that set the tone for the Varsity Blues, and take control of games when they start to slip.
Leading me into individuals to look out for, and going back to a team fighting at the top of the division, I want to point out the year Hannah Bourdon is having with the Guelph Gryphons. 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, for years Hannah has been the steady force for Guelph in the biggest moments, and this year she, alongside her running partner in Alexis Wright, have taken command of the Gryphons from an execution standpoint and they've consistently provided. Having someone like Hannah who doesn't seem to flap regardless of what's going on in a game, and is the calm deep breath when momentum is shifting is huge for a team, and she's been vital to their start.
Of course, if you're talking about OUA women's basketball over the past few years, you have to talk about the reigning player of the year who is continuing to dominate. Madalyn Weinert with the 6-4 Brock Badgers meets every occasion and, as ridiculous as it sounds to say because of how impressive it is, is a near stamped and delivered double-double for the Badgers going into every game and she's proven that again. She's averaging 22.4 points and 13.5 rebounds shooting 51.9 per cent from the field, and it's really hard to see anything slowing down.
Division battles, undefeated teams making runs, great players continuing to be great, the midpack battling for positioning, the first half of the season was filled with unravelling storylines, and the second half is where the stories get their ending.