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The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team defeated the Nipissing Lakers 73-23 on Friday night (Nov. 21) in their grand opening event at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

With the win, the Blues improve to 3-2 and remain in second place in the OUA East division, while the Lakers drop to 0-3 and sit fourth in the North.

Fifth-year forward Liane Bailey of Montreal led all players with 17 points, while fellow veteran Julie Longauer had 12 points and five steals on the night. Third-year guard Alanna Garner notched nine points and a team-high seven boards, while eight other players got on the scoresheet in the win.

"It was absolutely awesome," said Varsity Blues head coach Michele Belanger on the grand opening event. "I thought the department and staff did an outstanding job. The Kimel reception was wonderful. Alumni coming back, fans coming in, the athletes supporting the athletes; all of it was just magical."

The Blues got out to an early 13-0 lead, thanks to eight points from Longauer, and held a 19-6 advantage after the first 10 minutes of action. Toronto extended the gap even further, led by an 11-point quarter from Bailey, and led 40-11 at halftime.

 U of T again held the Lakers to single digits in the third quarter, outscoring the North Bay natives 18-8 to take a 58-19 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Third-year guard Claire Abbott led the Lakers with 11 points in the loss.

The Varsity Blues return to action tomorrow night as they host the Laurentian Voyageurs at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

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