U of T women’s b-ball makes Rye eat humble pie

By Steve Petrick

When the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s basketball team suffered its first-ever loss to Ryerson in Kerr Hall in November, they didn’t take it too well.

Last Sunday’s rematch saw the revenge-yearning Blues pound the Rams 94-52 at U of T. The loss is Ryerson’s most lopsided defeat this year.

Paired with a Friday night defeat at Queen’s, Ryerson’s record falls to 6-5.

They have lost three of their last four games but are still in a playoffs position as they hold fourth place in the OUA East division by six points over York University.

“We lost because we played forgetting all of our basketball skills,” third-year forward Becky Owen said.

Owen contributed with six points in the opening four minutes, as both teams traded a flurry of early baskets.

Five and a half minutes in it looked as though a close, nail-biting game was in the making as Ryerson led 14-13, but then something went wrong. U of T went on to score 10 straight points, building momentum that the Rams could never match. At the half the score was 47-29 Varsity Blues.

Toronto’s coach Michele Belanger, still steamed after the 80-77 loss at Ryerson, said her team was out for revenge. She was so upset with the officials during the loss to Ryerson she protested by pulling a player from the court and electing to play out the final minutes with only four players. She said Sunday’s officiating was fine.

Ryerson head coach Sandra Pothier was cautiously optimistic after the game.

“Offensively we played very well. Defensively our game plan was working, but we made a couple of mistakes where they hit a few threes and that was the difference,” said Pothier.

“The bottom line is, we’re going to have to play one of these teams in the playoff so it’s what you’ve learned from your experience having played a club twice. When you come to the playoffs it’s a whole different ball game,” Pothier said.

Clarification published Feb. 10, 1999: In last week’s article “U of T women’s b-ball team makes Rye eat humble pie,” Sandra Pothier was quoted as talking about the U of T game, when, in actuality, she was referring to the Queen’s game the previous Friday. We regret the editing error.