Box Score OUA East rookie of the year Jill Stratton scored 15 points in the second half to lift the No. 6 Varsity Blues to a 62-54 victory over the No. 9 Laurier Golden Hawks in the OUA women’s basketball bronze medal game on Saturday night (March 5) at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

In lieu of Windsor’s 46-44 victory over the Carleton Ravens in the OUA final tonight, the Varsity Blues are the No. 3 OUA seed and will travel to the Atlantic Regional Round 1, March 11-12, to battle for a spot in the CIS Final 8 championship two weeks from now.

Stratton tallied a team-high 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals, while three other Varsity Blues hit double digits on the night. OUA East first team all-star Nicki Schutz of Toronto had 11 points and eight boards, while veteran guard and Kingston, Ont., native Erin McNeely recorded 11 points and a game-high seven assists.

Fourth-year forward Megan Stoncius had a breakout game with 10 points, four boards and three steals in the win.

Down 34-27 at halftime, Stratton opened the third quarter with her first four points of the game to rally the home squad. With some help from second-year forward Alicia Van Kampen, Stratton gained Toronto’s first lead of the game (43-42) with 2:12 remaining in the third.

After some back-and-forth play, Van Kampen would drain the final basket of the frame to give U of T a 45-43 advantage heading into the fourth.

Both teams exchanged baskets to open the fourth before Toronto exploded offensively to go on a 16-7 run. Stratton continued her stellar play with seven more points, while rookie Liane Baily came off the bench and hit back-to-back threes to extend U of T’s lead for good.

Laurier, who dropped a narrow 65-59 decision to the Windsor Lancers in the West final last Sunday, opened the game with a 7-2 run over the first five minutes of action. The Blues scoring troubles, which saw them shoot just 17% from the floor, continued and veteran Mallory Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ont.) capped off the first quarter with a three to give the visiting Hawks a 20-8 advantage.

McNeely and Schutz rallied, combining for 13 of Toronto’s 19 second-quarter points. Stoncius provided some late help with six points, but Kohlmeier drained another three at the buzzer to give Laurier a 34-27 lead at halftime.

OUA West first team all-star Renata Adamczyk of Greensville, Ont., recorded a game-high 16 points, while Kohlmeier and Christina Mancino had 11 each in the loss.

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