The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's and women's basketball teams host the Ottawa Gee-Gees in their ninth annual Think Pink, #BleedBlue doubleheader on Friday night (Jan. 22) at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

Support the Cause: Think Pink, #BleedBlue Website

The women start the action at 6 p.m., with the men to follow at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale here.

The women's halftime on Friday night will feature a spectacular performance from the Junior Blues Gymnastics club, who this past weekend raised over $700 at their annual Think Pink bake sale. Following that, 2015-16 U of T Think Pink champions Manny Sahota and Devon Williams of the men's basketball team will present their proceeds, while football player Kevin Collins is set to cut his hair in support of the cause.

The Blues also play host to the Carleton Ravens on Saturday night (Jan. 23) at Goldring Centre at 6 and 8 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on OUA.tv.

Think Pink action continues next weekend as women's volleyball hosts the Queen's Gaels on Friday night (Jan. 29) and women's hockey takes on the Windsor Lancers on Saturday night (Jan. 30).

Following a tough loss to the No. 9 Queen's Gaels this past weekend the Varity Blues women, who currently sit third in the OUA East with a 3-5 record, are looking to make a statement this weekend against the perennial powerhouses.

Third-year guard Rahshida Atkinson remains an OUA top 15 scoring threat, averaging 13.8 point per game, while also averaging 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals. Meanwhile, fellow third-year guard Diedre Edwards has established herself as one of the top OUA perimeter defenders, ranking top 10 in the OUA in steals (2.3/game) while leading the Blues in rebounding (5.9/game). This combination of Atkinson's offensive touch and Edwards' perimeter defence has proven to be a strong one-two punch for Toronto and will be necessary in stopping both competitors from the nation's capital.

For the Varsity Blues men (3-4), who are coming off two big last-minute victories, the stakes are even higher as they begin the weekend doubleheader against the 2013-14 Wilson Cup champions and No. 1 Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday night before taking on the 2014-15 Wilson Cup champions and No. 2 Carelton Ravens.

Toronto forward and OUA scoring leader Devin Johnson will need to deliver his best performances to keep up with the stiff competition. Averaging 25.3 points per game on an efficient 46.8 field goal percentage should do the trick, but additional help from second-year guard and 2014-15 all-rookie team member Sage Usher, standout rookie guard Devon Williams, and fourth-year forward Manny Sahota, who served as hero of the game in the Blues 85-84 upset victory over Queen's this past weekend, will be instrumental in ensuring Toronto showcases itself against some of the OUA's best.
 
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