The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team opens their 2014-15 regular season this Friday and Saturday night (Nov. 7-8) as they head to Waterloo to take on the Waterloo Warriors and Laurier Golden Hawks.

The Blues return home the following weekend and host the CIS defending champion Windsor Lancers in their home opener on Friday, November 14 at the brand new Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

Advance tickets are on sale here. All OUA women's basketball games will also be streamed live on OUA.tv.
 
Friday night's season opener marks the 800th regular season game in women's basketball program history at U of T.

New this year is a four division format and new playoff structure in OUA basketball. Toronto will compete in the East division with Queen's, Ryerson and York, with the top three teams advancing to the post season.

U of T is coming off a 12-10 season, which saw them finish fourth in the OUA East division. The Blues topped the Ryerson Rams in the first round of the playoffs, but ended their season with a 67-56 loss to the Queen's Gaels in quarter-final action.

"Last season we had a really great January and February and the only down part was how we finished our season at Queen's," said Varsity Blues head coach Michèle Bélanger, now in her 36th season at the helm. "I think overall we have a good mix of youth and experience. Our scoring abilities are stronger than last year so I'm hoping for some good things this season."

Fifth-year guard and two-time OUA all-star Jill Stratton is back to lead the Blues. A native of Etobicoke, Ont., Stratton led the Blues and ranked 12th in the province with 14.1 points per game last season.

Returning to the lineup this year is fellow fifth-year guard Jasmine Lewin (Brampton, Ont.). Lewin, who will co-captain the team with Stratton, averaged 6.8 points and led the Blues with 43 assists in the 2012-13 season.

Forwards Liane Bailey and Julie Longauer are also key returnees. A Montreal native, Bailey enters her fifth and final season after ranking third on the team with 8.9 points and 5.0 boards per game last year. Longauer, who sat out last season due to injury, looks to have a breakout year for the Blues in her fourth year of eligibility.  

The Blues have great depth with second-year guards Rahshida Atkinson, Diedre Edwards and Jovana Momic, while third-year veterans Alanna Garner and Vanessa Wallace have had effective off seasons and are ready to see more court time in 2014-15. Forward and centre Emily Piccini adds a versatile intside-outside game to the squad. 

Toronto welcomes two transfers to their 2014-15 roster. Fourth-year guard Abena Addo joins the Blues after three seasons at McGill University, while Selali Acolatse comes to the team after one year with the StFX X-Women. They, along with incoming freshmen Maddy Baker and Jay Gaunt, will look to turn heads in the Blue and White. 

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