Friday evening the women’s basketball team proved that elegance and grace are not always key to securing a tough conference win. In a game featuring 53 turnovers and 42 personal fouls, the Blues (12-4, 2nd OUA East) out-hustled the Windsor Lancers (4-12, 6th OUA West) to a 71-44 win before a crowd of 80 people at the Athletic Centre’s Sports Gym.
The win is their fifth in a row and eleventh in their last twelve OUA games.
Toronto used a 15-0 run early in the second half to turn a 33-26 halftime lead into a 50-30 bulge with twelve minutes to go.
Toronto coach Michelle Belanger switched from a man defence to a zone at halftime to neutralize Windsor’s transition game and initiate the game-clinching run.
“They’re not a very strong ballhandling team,” said Belanger. “We knew that going to any kind of a press would help.”
Post player Jacquie Armour (6 of 7FG) led the way, scoring six of her 13 points during the run to go along with nine rebounds on the night.
Holly Pagnan (10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) contributed to the defensive pressure, matching teammate Vanessa Nobrega with a game-high 6 steals.
Backup point guard Kristen Cullen (4 of 5FG) led a strong effort from the Toronto bench (27 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 8 steals), scoring nine points to go with two rebounds and two assists.
“They kept up the tempo and they kept the momentum going,” said Belanger of the strong bench play.
Some players attributed the scrappy nature of the game (12 heldballs) to the fact that Windsor’s place in the standings leaves them nothing to play for but pride.
“That was a tough, physical game,” said Armour. “Windsor was out for blood…. There were words said among players and a couple of us just got hacked and fouled.”
Cheri Mulcaster (3 of 16FG) led Windsor with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Collette Beadow-Carter added six steals for the Lancers.
With four games to go in the regular season, the Blues are looking to peak at just the right time entering the conference tournament hosted by U of T.
“The season is winding down and I’m trying to get really focused,” added Armour. “As a team, we’re really pressing upon the fact that we’ve got to come together as a group. We really want to go to nationals.”
On Saturday the Blues overcame a 35-30 halftime deficit to win 77-66 over Western (13-5, 2nd OUA West).
They were led by Pagnan (19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals), Paula Romkey (19 points, 10 rebounds), Armour (10 rebounds), Nobrega (11 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists) and Vanessa Richardson (12 points, 10 rebounds).
Up next for the Blues is a televised game (CH) with CIS #4 Laurentian (17-0, 1st OUA East) on Saturday at noon before facing York (8-9, 5th OUA East) on Sunday at 2 p.m.
