The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team came up just short in a 61-60 defeat at the hands of the York Lions early on Friday (Nov. 24) at the Tait Mackenzie Centre.

In a contest that featured seven lead changes, the Blues were able to control the first and third quarters, but dropped the second and fourth which resulted in the Lions being able to escape with a one-point victory. In the very evenly matched contest, the Blues attempted to take advantage of pace of play scoring several fast break points and an additional four points off turnovers compared to the home side. However, York earned additional scoring opportunities with nine more free throw attempts than U of T (19-10) following the four quarters of action,

Leading the Blues in the Friday showdown were fifth-year guard Ellen Ougrinov and third-year forward  Sabrina Nero who each scored a team-high 16 points. Ougrinov was especially effective in the opening half, nailing 4-of-6 three point attempts before the break. Meanwhile, Nero picked up her second consecutive double-double this season pulling down 13 rebounds, including three on the offensive glass.

U of T third-year guards Gabrielle Reed and Kaylee Williams tallied 12 and nine points, respectively. Reed finished the contest shooting 50 percent from the field, while also grabbing eight rebounds. Williams went 4-for-4 in her 17 minutes of action.

A team effort for the Lions, both Tianna Bailey and Bilan Khadar registered a team-high 12 points in the win.

The Blues and Lions will be right back in action tomorrow (Nov. 25) afternoon as they play the second game of the home-and-home weekend at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m., with tickets available at varsityblues.ca/tickets. The game is also streamed live on oua.tv.