The UTM Eagles continued their U of T women’s basketball intramural dominance with a 54-50 win over St. George Blue to claim the inaugural tri-campus championship.

With the victory, UTM captures their eighth straight women’s basketball championship, including the seven straight Division One titles they have claimed.

The game wowed the packed crowd at Mississauga campus. Veteran UTM players Steph Kishimoto and Marija Kosovski led their team to victory over the hard-working St. George Blue squad. UTM’s captain, Kishimoto, playing in the final game of her career, scored a team-high 21 points, while Kosovski contributed 11 points with some key baskets.

With St. George up 10-6 early, UTM went on an 8-2 run, highlighted by key plays from Kosovski and Steph Van de Ven. Determination and hard work from St. George’s Jessica Robbins helped her team end the UTM run. The half ended with both teams exchanging baskets and St. George going to the dressing room with a 22-21 advantage.

The halftime break seemed to kill St. George’s momentum. UTM went on a 12-0 run, thanks to some great passing plays and good shooting by Kishimoto. UTM’s offence came out of the dressing room on fire, but the same couldn’t be said for the St. George team. Early in the second, the Eagles grabbed a 33-22 lead.

St. George refused to give up, however, despite their sloppy play earlier. Laura Powers stepped up her play with some key rebounds, while Stephanie Bradley hit two open shots to stop the UTM run, and cut the lead to six. Kosovski replied with a key three-pointer to spread UTM’s lead to 36-27.

With less than four minutes to go, UTM seemed to be in total control of the game, having built their lead to 12. But St. George’s Powers had something to say about that. She hit two consecutive three-pointers and then followed with a steal and a lay-up, cutting UTM’s lead to 51-48 with 44 seconds remaining.

St. George couldn’t get any closer than that, as Kishimoto wasn’t going to let her chance to win the tri-campus title slip through her fingers. She nailed four crucial free throws during the final minute of the match and gave the UTM fans a reason to celebrate.

The underdog St. George Blue received outstanding efforts from Powers, who finished with a game-high 23 points; Jessica Robbins, who was a monster on the boards; and Ashley Cross, who popped in eight points.