Box Score The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team dropped an 85-67 decision to the No. 7 Ryerson Rams in the second installment of the BIA Cup Wednesday night (Feb. 11) at Mattamy Athletic Centre.

With the loss, the Blues drop to 8-8 but remain in third place, while the Rams improve to 15-3 and remain atop the OUA East division. Ryerson was awarded the BIA Cup, based on three wins to one in the men's and women's basketball season series.

Fifth-year guard Jill Stratton led all players with 21 points, while adding eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Both Rahshida  Atkinson and Jasmine Lewin had 11 points and five boards in the loss.

Toronto and Ryerson traded the lead throughout the first quarter, with the Rams taking a 19-15 lead after 10 minutes of action. Back-to-back baskets from Lewin gave U of T a 28-27 lead midway through the second, but Ryerson ended the half on a 9-4 run to take a six-point lead (38-32) into halftime.

Stratton and Atkinson rallied the troops and again evened the score at 46-46 midway through the third, but the Rams took a 54-52 lead into the final frame. Ryerson exploded for 31 points in the final frame to put the game out of reach.

Keneca Pingue-Giles led the Rams with 20 points, while Silvana Jez had a double-double of 14 points and 10 boards. Annie Sokoloff also reached the double-double with 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds in the win.

The Varsity Blues return to the court this Saturday, February 14 as they travel to St. Catharines, Ont., to take on the Brock Badgers. Tip off is set for 1 p.m.
 
Game Notes: The Harbord Street Business Improvement Area (BIA) has partnered with the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA), which represents 78 local BIAs and over 35,000 local businesses, to foster a cross-town basketball rivalry between U of T and Ryerson by creating the BIA Cup. 

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