Box Score The No. 6 Varsity Blues women’s basketball team outscored the Carleton Ravens 17-5 in the fourth quarter to overcome an 11-point deficit with a thrilling 54-49 victory on Friday, February 11 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

With the win, the Blues (16-4) clinch second place and a first round playoff bye in the OUA East division. The Ravens drop to 17-3 and remain atop the East, only two points ahead of the Blues.

Blues veteran guard Erin McNeely of Kingston, Ont., ignited the fourth-quarter comeback with six early points and a Sherri Pierce free throw would even the score at 48-48 with 4:38 remaining.

The game remained deadlocked for over two minutes before rookie guard Jill Stratton (Etobicoke, Ont.) sunk a free throw with 1:59 remaining and added a jumper over a minute later to secure the win.

Veteran forward Nicki Schutz of Toronto led all players with 22 points and added eight boards, four blocks and six steals on the night. Pierce followed that up with 13 points of her own, going 11-for-12 from the free throw line, while McNeely had eight points in Toronto’s ninth consecutive victory.

McNeely drained a jumper in the dying seconds of a low-scoring first quarter, which saw both team shooting under 27% from the floor, and the Ravens held an 11-10 advantage heading into the second.

Schutz rallied the troops and recorded six consecutive points midway through the second quarter to give Toronto a three-point lead; however, the Ravens battled back and went on a 10-3 run in the last four minutes to take a 25-21 lead into halftime.

The Ravens got out to an early lead thanks to six points from Ashleigh McCleary and went ahead by as many as 11 points. A late six-point surge from Pierce would bring the game within seven heading into the fourth.

Carleton was led by Kendall MacLeod’s 12-point, nine-rebound performance. Jessiva Resch had nine points and McCleary had eight in the Ravens first loss in 14 games.

The Varsity Blues return to the floor tomorrow night when they host the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the second game of White Out Weekend at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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