With an impressive preseason under their belt, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team are looking to defy expectations in 2017-18.
The Blues open their 2017-18 regular season campaign this Saturday, October 28 as they travel to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., to take on the Algoma Thunderbirds.
Toronto returns home two weeks from now as they host the Brock Badgers in their home opener on Friday, November 10. Advance tickets are on sale
here.
"I've been really pleased with the amount of pressure we've been able to put on opposing players during the preseason," said head coach Michèle Bélanger, now in her 39th season with the Blues. "Our guard play has been very solid, while our forwards are stepping out of their comfort zones and are attacking the lanes a lot harder. We are running the court well and shooting the ball better than we did last year. There has been some overall great team performances and some pretty outstanding individual performances so far for us."
Graduating only one player from their starting five a season ago, the Blue and White will have experience on their side, with an added boost from youthful contributors.
Third-year guard Keyira Parkes and fifth-year guard Rahshida Atkinson will provide a 1-2 punch after finishing 1-2 in scoring for the Blues last season. Both natives of Scarborough, Ont., Parkes provides confident shooting from beyond the arc, while Atkinson has displayed a lethal pull-up ability in the midrange.
Facilitating the pair will be the Blues primary ball handler, Diedre Edwards. A fifth-year kinesiology major, Edwards is an all-around athlete who fills up the scoresheet, ranking among team leaders in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
Down low, the Blues boast a duo of versatile forwards in third-year standouts Charlotte Collyer and Sarah Bennett. Collyer has impressed since day one, leading the team in rebounds last season, while chipping in with an offensive game that stretches from inside the paint to outside the three-point arc.
Meanwhile, Bennett provided a spark off the bench for U of T in her first two seasons and will be looked upon to take a leap in her third season, providing similar versatility to her frontcourt running mate in Collyer.
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.
