In another match-up between the GTA-rivals, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team came up just short in a 68-52 defeat versus the York Lions on Saturday (Jan. 11) night at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

An even match-up throughout, the Lions were able to hold onto a lead even when the Blues made several strong pushes to close the gap. Toronto proved to be more efficient from the floor, shooting 32 percent from the floor, compared to 28 percent for York. Meanwhile, both teams battled in the paint with the Lions coming away with a slight edge in rebounds, 59-52, and points in the paint, 26-22. However, the real difference in the game proved to be turnovers and bench points as the visitors were able to force the Blues into several critical turnovers during big runs, helping the Lions to 24 total bench points through the full four quarters.

First-year guard Lia Barbieri once again led Toronto in scoring with 15 points, following up her team-high performance from the day prior. She added four rebounds and two steals to round out her Saturday night stat line. Second-year guard Raya Hafez also contributed a solid performance with 14 points, including 2-for-3 from behind the three point line. Kaylee Williams helped facilitate the offence with six assists, while also chipping in defensively with two steals. Meanwhile, on the boards both Thuraya Abdul Hamid and Zi Yang Wang pulled down 11 rebounds apiece, with Wang also adding four steals and one block.

For the Lions, Kiara Leveridge was the focal point in the paint registering a game-high 29 points from nine made field goals and 11 made free throws. Off the bench Tianna Bailey and Alexis Grewal chipped in with nine and seven points, respectively.

The Varsity Blues will look to regroup and refine their execution as they prepare for their game next Saturday (Jan. 19) against the Brock Badgers in St. Catharines, Ont. All the action can be streamed online at oua.tv.