Returning to the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's and women's basketball teams will take on the defending champion Ryerson Rams in their OUA regular season home openers this Friday, November 11.
The contests will serve as a Friday Fan Zone event with a licensed area in the north end of the court. The women tipping off at 6 p.m., followed by the men at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale
here while the games will also be streamed live on OUA.tv.
In an exciting season opener, the Varsity Blues men's squad picked up a big 95-90 overtime victory over the Waterloo Warriors this past weekend.
Offensively, fifth-year forward Devin Johnson proved once again to be an OUA scoring threat with 28 points to lead the OUA after the opening weekend. A dominant presence in the paint, Johnson is adept at driving through contact while also drawing fouls, going 11-for-14 at the free throw line. Defensively, Johnson also added seven rebounds and three steals for the Blues.
In preparation for the No. 10 Rams, who picked up a convincing 88-54 win in their season opener versus Laurier, U of T will need secondary scoring to keep up with the high-powered Ryerson offence. Second-year guard Chris Barrett proved to be a source of clutch scoring, nailing two crunch-time three's in the overtime period to finish second in scoring on the team with 17 points. Fifth-year forward Manny Sahota also pitched in with 17 points while adding 12 rebounds for the double-double.
Meanwhile on the women's side, the Varsity Blues will look to shore up their paint defence in order to upset the No. 7 Rams.
In their season opener U of T displayed some impressive full court pressure forcing 29 Warrior turnovers, while outscoring Waterloo 22-7 on points off turnovers.
However, being out-rebounded 53-26, the Varsity Blues struggled with their opponents size inside, and this week will have to look out for Ryerson's 2015-16 OUA first team all-star forward Sofia Paska.
If U of T are able to control the boards, look for fourth-year guard Rahshida Atkinson to lead the Blues offensively. The scoring threat is able to score from anywhere on the court picking up a team-high 16 points in Toronto's opener versus the Warriors.
Meanwhile, second-year student-athletes Keyira Parkes and Sarah Bennett also proved to have a scoring touch with Parkes nailing three shots from beyond the arc, while Bennett scored an efficient 4-for-6 shooting performance and added a team-high eight rebounds.
Following the home opener both the Varsity Blues men's and women's teams will hit the road to take on the Brock Badgers Saturday, November 12 in St. Catharines, Ontario. The women tip off at 6 p.m. followed by the men at 8 p.m. with all the action being streamed live on OUA.tv.
For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite U of T athletes and teams, please visit
www.varsityblues.ca. Don't forget to follow us on
Twitter,
Instagram,
SnapChat and
Facebook for the latest and greatest in Varsity Blues intercollegiate athletics.
