By Shi Davidi
Star guard Miruna Muller returned to the women’s basketball team last Saturday, but her presence wasn’t enough as the Rams lost 91-71 to the University of Toronto Blues.
Muller became eligible to play after clearing her academic standing. She was placed on academic suspension following the fall ‘96 semester.
Muller said at the time it was difficult for her to balance the demands of basketball, academics and learning a new language after moving to Toronto from Romania.
“I’m very excited to be back,” she said. It’s hard coming back. I only worked out with the team for a week. It’ll take time to get to know them again.”
Looking rusty at times, Muller led all scorers with 18 points. But her performance, combined with a strong effort from guard Karina Navarro, who had 17 points and 11 assists, wasn’t enough to counter the Blues’ balanced attack. U of T had five scorers in double figures.
Rams coach Sandra Pothier blamed a sloppy first half for the loss.
“We had too many turnovers in the first half,” she said. “Uof T isn’t better than us by 20 points.”
She said Muller will give the Rams a boost for the second half of the season.
“We’re absolutely happy to have her back. She’s a scorer. She brings his good outside shooting and a good pull-up jumper.”
Pothier is also confident Muller’s academic troubles are behind her.
“I think when most people come to a new country and learn a new language, it always takes time to adjust and is a lot to deal with. I’m sure now she’ll be better equipped to cope.”
The Women have an overall record of 9-9, but their league record is below 500 at 2-5. The Rams are scheduled to play Queen’s in Kingston next Sunday but the ice storm may postpone the game.
Leave a Reply