The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team earned a 62-50 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks in their home opener on Saturday (Oct. 24) night inside the Goldring Centre - Kimel Family Field House.
The win marks the first home opener victory for U of T since a 75-60 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds inside the Athletic Centre Sports Gym in 2018. It also brings to an end a streak of 12 straight losses to the Golden Hawks with the last victory over Laurier coming in 2012.
After a back-and-forth first quarter which saw the Blues hold a four-point advantage at 24-20, U of T turned up the heat defensively holding the visitors to just 10 points across each of the next three quarters of action.
Meanwhile, fifth-year veteran Janet Enge paces the Blues on offence scoring a game-high 15 points. In addition to finding her own shot, she also served as a facilitator registering five assists. Adding a strong presence in the paint, first-year forward Chidimma Chukwunyerenwa tallied a 10 points and 14 rebound double-double in the win. Her ability was showcased on both ends of the court as she pulled down six offensive boards and added two blocks and two steals defensively. In total, 10 different Blues players recorded a point and eight players notched a steal.
For the Golden Hawks, Paris Matheos registered a team-high 13 points in 24 minutes off the bench. Keira Aikman battled in the paint to also grab a team-high 13 rebounds in the loss.
The Blues will now hit the road for two away games next weekend. U of T will begin with a showdown in Hamilton versus the McMaster Marauders on Friday (Oct. 30) night, before continuing around Lake Ontario for a meeting with the Brock Badgers the next day (Oct. 31). All OUA basketball games are streamed live on
oua.tv.
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