On January 28, the Varsity Blues women’s basketball team took a hard hit after a 22-point loss against the Windsor Lancers.

The Blues and the Lancers met at the Goldring Centre for High-Performance Sport on Saturday night with high energy. Prior to this game, the Blues lost to the Lancers back in 2019 and were hoping to succeed in their first 2023 season game against the Lancers on home court.

What happened

The Blues had a slow entrance into the game, with the Lancers securing their first three-pointer by Julia Chiarot. Blues guard Ellen Ougrinov applied pressure with a quick match-up shot, keeping everyone on their toes. Closing in to the end of the first quarter, with just seconds left, Lancers forward Vanessa Budimunda secured a buzzer beater to hold the four-point lead at 17–21.

The Lancers continued to maintain the lead throughout the first half of the game by clamping down on defense and keeping a tight focus on protecting the basket. The Blues pushed through to keep a tight score between them. A clean assist by Blues guard Gabby Reed to forward Sabrina Nero for a smooth layup helped the Blues gain momentum. The Blues started to close in on the Lancers and the score quickly reached 24–26. 

As the gap in the points started to increase, Blues guard Soraya Jovin kept their points moving with a smooth three pointer. The Blues finished off at half time holding their own but falling short in the end with a 16-point disadvantage of 29–45.

The Blues came into the third quarter with a fiery passion — Blues guard Lauren Boers effortlessly shot a three pointer from deep corner, closing in the gap. The Lancers dominated in this quarter with a 20-point lead up on the scoreboard despite the Blues’ efforts to keep up.

Varsity Blues forward Jada Poon Tip and Boers secured the title of top scorers in the game, with Poon Tip at 13 points and Boers at 11.

The strength of the Blues athletes was persistent throughout the game despite being down every quarter. They showed their ability to keep up with the Lancers from start to finish, but unfortunately the game ended unsatisfactorily for the Blues. The match ended with a score of 50 for the Blues and 72 for the Windsor Lancers. 

What’s next

The women’s basketball team travels to St. Catharines on February 3 for a redemption game against the Brock Badgers after a four-game losing streak.