By Christian Lander
MONTREAL — Federalism and unity were the last things the Ryerson women’s basketball team thought about as they ripped a pair of quick wins from Quebecois teams this weekend.
The Rams started the season 2-0 thanks to a 61-57 win over the ninth-ranked Concordia Stingers Friday night and a 64-45 thrashing of the McGill Martlets on Saturday afternoon.
The first half against McGill was a back-and-forth battle with a flurry of scoring from both sides.
In an effort to slow the scoring, Ryerson employed a press defence that slowed the Martlets and enabled the Rams to carry a slim 33-31 lead into the half.
With the score close and a little under 17 minutes left to go in the second half, Rams’ guard Cathy Taylor and Martlets’ Jen de Leeuw both battled for possession of the ball.
The referee blew the whistle and called for a jump ball, but the two players didn’t hear it. They exchanged a few pushes, and then started to grab at each other.
The fight was over as quickly as it started, but both players were ejected.
“I don’t think Cathy would start that, she’s not a fighter,” said Rams’ guard Miruna Muller. “She was pushing the girl off, and it was just a case of emotions running high.”
After the game, the official consensus among the Rams was that the game’s turning point was a press they employed in the first half, but clearly it was the fight.
With de Leeuw ejected, McGill lost six points, five rebounds, a steal and an assist. On the other side of the ball, Ryerson lost four rebounds, no points, an assist and a steal.
From there, the game was a cakewalk for the Rams who just rode the coattails of Muller who had a career day with 27 points, nine boards, 10 steals and three assists.
“I wanted to make sure the team ran the offence,” Muller said after the game.
The Rams will open up their home schedule this Friday against the York Yeowomen at 6 p.m. in Kerr gym. Admission is free with a student ID.
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