Rams move on to second round of OUA playoffs after dominating Voyageurs

By Peter Ash

The Ryerson Rams women’s basketball team started their playoff campaign with a bang, as they pummelled the Laurentian Voyageurs 85-40 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Feb. 20.

With the win, the Rams move to the second round of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Critelli Cup playoffs, where they’ll take on the Carleton Ravens at the Ravens’ Nest.

From start to finish, Ryerson managed to control the glass, which was ultimately what led them to victory. With Laurentian only having two players over the 6-foot mark on their roster, the Rams would take full advantage, besting the Voyageurs in rebounds 61-33.

The three ball was huge for Ryerson in this one, as they knocked down 10 of their 17 attempts from the beyond the arc on the night. The Rams’ defence was also on point, allowing a mere 20.3 field goal percentage, despite being without one of their top defenders in Jama Bin-Edward who missed her third straight game with a leg injury.

Ryerson led by as many as 47 points, controlling the tempo of the game and keeping the speedy Voyageurs in a half-court setting.

Despite not shooting too well from the field, fifth-year forward Sofia Paska led the way with 20 points (4-15 from the field) and a whopping 16 rebounds.

Ryerson also dominated on the bench, with most of their contributions coming from guard Leyki Sorra. The second-year player scored 13 points, while knocking down four of her five three point attempts from the three-point line.

For Laurentian, their leader and fourth-year forward Mackenzie Robinson finished with 12 points (3-7 FG), five rebounds and two assists.

Looking forward

The Rams lost both of their games against the Ravens during the regular season. Although they were both in the single digits, the Rams weren’t able to efficiently score against Carleton’s strong defence.

In order to win, they’ll need their senior leaders in Paska, Cara Tiemens and Katherine Follis to lead the way against one of the more balanced teams in the country.

UP NEXT: The teams will play at the Ravens’ Nest on Feb. 23. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.