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The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team opens their 2013-14 regular season on the road as they travel to take on the McMaster Marauders and Brock Badgers this weekend (Nov. 1-2).
Both games will be streamed live with links via varsityblues.ca, with tip off scheduled for 6 p.m.
The Blues have finished in third place in the OUA East division behind Ottawa and Carleton for the past two years and look to get past the OUA quarter-final round for the first time since 2010-11 this season.
"Our team goal for this year is to again finish among the top two teams in the East," said Michèle Bélanger, who enters her 35th season as Blues bench boss. "We need to be competitive against some key teams and constantly improve throughout the season if we want to make it past the quarter-finals and into the next round."
Fourth-guards Jill Stratton and Rachael Sider return to lead Toronto's offence. A team co-captain, Stratton (Etobicoke, Ont.) missed half of 2012-13 due to injury but returned in fine form, ranking second on the team with 10.6 points per contest. She is already in stride to return as the team's leading scorer, after averaging 19.5 points per game during Toronto's four-game pre-season schedule.
A native of New Westminster, B.C., Sider stepped up in 2012-13, leading the team with 12.0 points per game and earning OUA East all-star honours. The 5-foot-10 guard also recorded 5.0 boards per game and led the team in three-pointers and free throws last season.
Entering her fifth and final season in the Blue and White, Alicia Van Kampen is expected to see a lot of court time this year. The Amaranth, Ont., native ranked second on the team with 6.1 rebounds per game last season and led the Blues with 15 blocks.
Fourth-year forward and team co-captain Liane Bailey (Montreal) also returns in 2013-14. Bailey is coming off a breakout season, where she ranked third on the team with 7.8 points per contest. Fellow veteran forward Julie Longauer is out for the year after a pre-season injury. Veteran Kristy Chute and rookie Emily Piccini will look to jump in and fill the void during Longauer's absence.
Fifth-year point guard Vanessa Brathwaite (Brampton, Ont.) is back with her stellar ball handling abilities, while the Blues have great depth in sophomores Vanessa Wallace and Alanna Garner, as well as incoming players Rahshida Atkinson and Diedre Edwards.
Madison Laurin, Sophia Ducharme and Jovana Momic round out Toronto's first-year corps and will look to gain some valuable experience in the Blue and White this season.
The Varsity Blues return home the following weekend for their 2013-14 home openers as they host the Laurier Golden Hawks on Friday, November 8 and the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, November 9. Tip off on both days is set for 6 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale here.
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