By Ben Waldman
- Rams score season-high 91 points
- Sofia Paska and Kellie Ring record double-doubles for Ryerson
- Rams get 27 points off the bench to Brock’s six
Ryerson’s women’s basketball team beat the Brock Badgers 91-75 Friday night, netting a season-high 91 points in front of a boisterous crowd at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ont.
The Badgers, true to their name, pestered and annoyed the Rams all game long, trailing by just four at the half and not giving Ryerson an easy path to victory. The win gives Ryerson an 11-3 record on the year, four points back of undefeated Queen’s (13-0) for first in the OUA East.
Rams forward Sofia Paska came out attacking the Badgers inside, utilizing her six-foot-four frame to bully Brock in the post. She finished the game with a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Kellie Ring was exceptional, putting up a double-double with 14 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers. In her last two games, Ring has averaged 17 points and nine assists.
[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”315″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_thumbnails” override_thumbnail_settings=”0″ thumbnail_width=”100″ thumbnail_height=”75″ thumbnail_crop=”1″ images_per_page=”20″ number_of_columns=”0″ ajax_pagination=”0″ show_all_in_lightbox=”0″ use_imagebrowser_effect=”0″ show_slideshow_link=”1″ slideshow_link_text=”[Show as slideshow]” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]Brock used a guard-heavy roster with only one player listed at forward and only two players listed at five-foot-nine or taller; Ryerson dressed nine players who reached that benchmark.
“We’ve got a lot of depth on our roster, especially in the post,” Rams coach Carly Clarke said after the game.
But Clarke said Brock’s size deficiency actually made things tougher on the bigger, taller Rams and highlighted an area needing improvement.
“I thought we did a really crappy job rebounding today, maybe because their guards are slippery,” Clarke said. “Our bigs are used to matching up with bigs, but that’s not an excuse.”
The Rams edged Brock 46-42 in the rebound count, though Brock finished with a 19-14 edge in offensive boards.
To Ryerson’s benefit, the Badgers were missing Kira Cornelissen, the OUA’s leading scorer and defensive rebounder, and the Rams took advantage.
Forwards Bronwyn Williams and Emma Fraser gave the Rams 14 and nine points, respectively, and their solid interior play helped space the floor to give Ryerson clean looks at perimeter shots.
In the first half, the Rams only shot 30 per cent from three-point range, but the team hit 7-10 in the final two quarters, allowing them to pull ahead.
Midway through the third quarter, the Rams went on a 14-5 run starting with a trey by Cara Tiemens, followed shortly after by back-to-back triples by Faatimah A to give them an 18-point lead going into the fourth.
“That brought our whole energy up,” Paska said. “It was great.”
UP NEXT: The Rams return to the Mattamy Athletic Centre to kick off a three-game homestand against the York Lions on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
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