By Jacob Stoller
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball team finished four points shy of securing their first win in the Darcel Wright Memorial Classic after falling 70-67 to the University of Cape Breton Capers in a Saturday matinee at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
While the scoreboard was relatively even throughout, the Bold found themselves trailing by nine points late in the game. With just over two minutes left, a clutch three-pointer from second-year guard Jayme Foreman cut the deficit to six points and ignited a comeback that saw the Bold trail by just one point with 20 seconds remaining.
“We’ve been really focusing on resilience and just pushing through,” said Foreman. “As a group, we were just trying to keep our heads up.”
The Bold got off to a slow start in the first quarter. Despite finishing the first frame with a 12-10 lead, they struggled to make baskets, shooting 25 per cent on their field goals and 11 per cent on their three pointers. Fourth-year forward Rachel Farwell kept the Bold in the fight, scoring seven of the Bold’s points that quarter. Even with marginal improvements in the second quarter, the Bold weren’t happy with their lack of ball movement in the first half.
“One big message was just to move the ball,” said Foreman. “I think that’s what we’ve been working on on our offence and a few times we kind’ve got stagnant.”
The Bold tightened things up in the second half, with Foreman and fourth-year guard Tiya Misir leading the charge. After recording seven points in the first half, Foreman delivered another 10 in the second half. Misir, who recorded 13 of her 21 points in the second half, impressed Bold head coach Carly Clarke.
“She’s creative, she can get to the foul line, she can score,” said Clarke. “We gotta get her moving the ball a little bit more and continue to grow defensively.”
Everything seemed to come alive in the second half. Clarke went on to give praise to Farwell and first-year guard Kait Nichols, who finished with a team-high 12 rebounds. Farwell only scored three more points after her first quarter surge, however, she also registered six steals, four assists and two rebounds. While Clarke said she’d like to see Farwell score more, she was satisfied with the latter’s showing.
“It was good for her to find some ways to impact the game defensively,” said Clarke.
But Cape Breton’s Kyiara Letlow was a problem for TMU all afternoon. The second-year forward scored a game-high 31 points, 16 of which came in the game’s final 20 minutes.
“They have one of the best players in the country in Letlow and she was a load for us,” said Clarke. “I thought we battled and made her work for what she got.”
Entering the game with one win and four losses in pre-season action, the Bold aren’t overly concerned with the final score. They’re using these exhibition contests as measuring sticks.
“This team’s gonna have to learn how to win some close ones,” said Clarke.
UP NEXT: The Bold close out their pre-season Sunday morning with a showdown against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
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