Box Score The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team dropped a 71-63 contest versus the visiting Ryerson Rams on Wednesday night (Nov. 29) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

Despite leading the first three quarters, the Varsity Blues were undone by continued fourth quarter struggles. The Blue and White were outscored 27-12 in the final frame, while shooting just 29 percent from the floor.

Toronto opened the night like a storm, overwhelming the Rams with a strong pressure defence and crisp passing on the offensive end. This led to a 7-0 points off turnover margin in favour of the Blues, and a perfect 3-for-3 shooting period from behind the three point arc. Toronto led 23-15 after the first.

In the second quarter, the game drew itself to a slower pace as the teams began to focus on counter attacks. U of T leaned on their defensive prowess as the Rams shot just 29 percent from the floor. Most impressive in the opening half for Toronto was their defence of Rams two-time OUA all-star forward Sofia Paska. The 6-4 low post threat was held without a rebound in the opening half, while also scoring just six points.

Returning from the halftime break, Ryerson appeared to make it a priority to break through the defence of the Blue and White with Paska. The Rams opened the third with a 13-4 run, lifting their scoring lead in the paint to 28-18 over Toronto. Ryerson would end the night outscoring Toronto 46-20 in the paint. Blues guard Rahshida Atkinson fired back for U of T, including a rim-rattling three-point buzzer beater to end the quarter with Toronto ahead 51-44.

However, the trend of dominance in the paint for Paska and the Rams continued into the fourth with the forward adding another 11 points to her game-high 23. Paska also recorded 10 second half rebounds for the double-double.

Atkinson led the way for the Blues on the night with 19 points, adding six rebounds, one block, and one steal. Fellow guard Keyira Parkes recorded 12 points, with all 12 coming from behind the three-point arc. Third-year forward Sarah Bennett rounded out the strong offensive performances for Toronto registering 11 points, six rebounds, and one block.

The Blue and White are right back at it this Friday, December 1 as they welcome the Lakehead Thudnerwolves to Goldring Centre for their final game of the fall semester. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. with the game also streamed live on OUA.tv.

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