By Libaan Osman
The Ryerson Rams women’s basketball team came up short in their last regular season game against the Queen’s Gaels, losing 70-74 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Feb.16.
With the Rams up by 68-66 with one minute left to play, the Gaels stole the night, knocking down two threes late in the game to pull off the upset.
Coming in as the 4th ranked team in the country, Ryerson finishes the season third in the OUA East, with a 17-6 record.
Leading the way for the Rams off the bench was Katherine Follis, who scored a team-high 16 points on 7-7 shooting in 12 minutes action.
“She’s so slippery,” head coach Carly Clarke said. “She moves well, she gets herself to good position. I think the biggest difference today, she really got herself on balance and was able to finish at the rim.”
Other notable scorers for the Rams were Cara Tiemens, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds and Sofia Paska, who also added in 12 points and six rebounds.
Paska also surpassed 1,500 career points, and holds the record for most points, rebounds, free throws and field goals made as a Ram.
It was a night of celebration for graduating players Tiemens, Follis and Paska, who all played their final regular season game.
When talking about her group, Clarke said she couldn’t have asked for a better group of seniors.
“All three of them of had incredible, major impacts on our program,” Clarke said. “They’ve helped us win our first OUA championships, first national silver medal but done so much for the university, the community. They’ve become such great faces of our program.”
The Rams were without second-year guard Jama Bin-Edward for the second straight night, as she’s been sidelined due to muscle spasms in the leg.
“Jama is one of the best defensive players in the country,” Clarke said. “She changes how we defend a little bit. We miss her ball pressure, we miss her length, we miss her speed.”
For the Gaels, guard Mariane Alarie scored a game-high 28 points and six rebounds on 11-19 shooting.
UP NEXT: Ryerson will host a quarterfinals matchup against the Laurentian Voyageurs on Feb. 20. The Rams swept the season series against the Voyageurs, winning most recently against them last week. Tip-off time hasn’t been scheduled yet.
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