Box Score Leading late into the fourth quarter, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team dropped a tough 74-67 contest with the Laurier Golden Hawks Saturday afternoon (Jan. 21) on the road.

With the loss the Varsity Blues fall to 6-7 on the season but remain in third place in the OUA East.

U of T started the Saturday matchup on fire in the paint, out-rebounding the Golden Hawks 21-7 in the first quarter leading to several second chance points. Toronto guard Rahshida Atkinson proved to be the beneficiary of many of these opportunities and would go on to score 17 of her game-high 23 points in the first half. The Blues carried a 21-13 lead into the second quarter.

Laurier, however, made a run in the second utilizing an impressive shooting performance from beyond the arc which saw them score four of their nine three pointers in the frame to cut the U of T lead down to just one at half, 36-35.

The teams exchanged baskets in a very even third quarter making for an exciting start to the fourth.

The Golden Hawks would jump ahead of the Blues utilizing costly turnovers in the final five minutes, but an opportunity to remain in the game was ever present for U of T as Laurier found themselves in foul trouble. However, Toronto would miss nine free throws in the final five minutes of the game, shooting just 40 per cent from the free throw line on the afternoon, allowing Laurier to slip away with the hard fought victory.

Four Blues hit double-digit points in the loss with Keyira Parkes and Charlotte Collyer finishing with 11 each, while veteran Emily Piccini picked up 10. Collyer also earned a double-double in the strong Blues rebounding performance, setting a new career-high with 11 rebounds.

The Blue and White now return to the Goldring Centre next Saturday, January 28 where they will host the McMaster Marauders in their annual Think Pink, #BleedBlue game. Tip off is scheduled for 12 p.m. with the game also being streamed live on OUA.tv. 

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