By Libaan Osman
It was the trio tandem of Jama Bin-Edward, Marin Scotten and Hayley Robertson that lit things up for the Ryerson Rams women’s basketball team. They combined for 78 points in Ryerson’s 85-73 win over the Western Mustangs at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Jan. 11.
Bin-Edward made her presence felt early on, pouring in 13 points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks in the first half alone.
“She’s playing at a very high level, especially today,” said Rams head coach Carly Clarke. “Her ability to disrupt [them] defensively and take them out of their rhythm, I thought that set the tone early.
She finished the game with 29 points on 11-17 shooting from the field in 32 minutes of play.
Along with Bin-Edward’s great performance, Scotten dropped 20 points for the third time this season while Robertson dialled in a career-high 29 points on 12-23 shooting.
After the win, Clarke couldn’t recall the last time three Rams players each scored 20-plus points.
“At Ryerson? Probably never,” said Clarke. “What’s special about our team is that we’ve had different people score at least double-digits multiple times this season. The way Western [defended us] really opened things up for Jama, Marin and Hayley.”
With the victory, Ryerson snapped Western’s 12-game winning streak while improving their record to 10-2 on the season. They currently sit tied for first in the Ontario University Athletics Central Division.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know they had a 12-game winning streak,” laughed Bin-Edward. “Carly came in here and said that. For us, being able to knock off that winning streak says a lot.”
The game was tied at 16 at the start of the second quarter until back-to-back threes from Bin-Edward and Scotten kicked off an 11-2 run. By halftime, the Rams led 39-39, scoring 13 points off 11 Mustangs turnovers.
Western wouldn’t go away quietly as they turned a 13-point deficit into a one-point Ryerson lead with seconds left in the third quarter.
Thanks to Scotten, the Rams would have some breathing room as she hit a three at the buzzer to push the teams’ lead to 61-57 entering the fourth.
The Rams didn’t have much to worry about in the fourth quarter as Robertson made sure to keep Western at distance, scoring 13 of her 29 points in the final nine minutes.
“I’m just trying to live in the moment,” said Robertson. “This is my last year of college basketball and I’m having a blast. This is probably the most fun I’ve had playing basketball. It’s awesome playing for Carly, [Jessica Roque] and all of our other coaches.”
Ryerson had only six turnovers all afternoon en route to their 12-point win. The Rams currently rank fifth in the country and are riding a six-game win streak.
UP NEXT: Ryerson looks to continue their winning ways with a road trip to Waterloo on Jan. 15. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.
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