Tara Kinnear and Nicki Schutz each recorded a double-double to lead the Varsity Blues women’s basketball team to an impressive 61-50 win over the host Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday, January 10th.

With the win, the Varsity Blues (7-5) remain tied atop the OUA East standings with the Carleton Ravens (7-4), while the Ottawa Gee-Gees (6-5) fall into second place.

Kinnear (Kemptville, Ont.) scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while teammate and fellow forward, Schutz (Toronto), hauled in a season- and game-high 19 rebounds to go along with 10 points as the Blues controlled the glass at both ends of the floor, out-rebounding their opponent 56-32.

Ottawa opened the scoring with a quick Katie Laurie (Ottawa) bucket for an early 2-0 lead. Toronto responded on the very next trip down the floor when Brampton Ont.’s Sherri Pierce hit a three-pointer to put the Blues ahead 3-2 and they would never look back from there, closing out the quarter on an 8-1 run to lead 17-7 at the end of the first.

There would be no comeback on this night as U of T kept Ottawa in check for the rest of the first half and went to the locker room with a comfortable 10-point lead, 29-19.

The Blues extended that lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Gee-Gees 23-19, and would close out the game keyed by third-year guard Alaine Hutton’s (Hamilton, Ont.) nine second-half points.

The Gee-Gees were led by Emilie Morasse’s (Quebec, Que.) game-high16 points and team-high10 rebounds, while Laurie knocked down 12 points in the loss.

The Varsity Blues are back at home next weekend, Jan. 16-17, to host the Queen’s Gaels and RMC Paladins at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.