By Raphael Chahinian
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball team dropped its first regular season game since January 2020 on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
TMU fell 61-57 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (U of T). But before the game, the squad got to look back on last season.
The Bold unveiled its 2021-22 U Sports National Championship banner Saturday at the MAC and fourth-year forward Rachel Farwell was very happy to see the team’s hard work get showcased.
“It’s nice to reminisce on a really fun season from last year, so it was great to acknowledge that again and continue to celebrate,” said Farwell.
The Bold have set a pattern for themselves in regard to their first quarter starts with a slow offensive showing from both teams. The quarter ended with a score of 8-8 after what looked like a defensive chess match.
The key point was the Varsity Blues forcing nine TMU turnovers in the first quarter by trapping them in the corners and forcing tough passes.
“We turned it over way too much, I thought we were really tight and made some silly errors, definitely something that we have to clean up moving forward,” said head coach Carly Clarke.
Both teams ramped up their offence in the second quarter, with fast-paced play that led to many transition opportunities and open threes. The Bold decided to implement the same strategy as the Varsity Blues and started trapping ball handlers.
With the Varsity Blues starting to put the ball in the basket, Farwell took control of the Bold’s defence and asserted herself as a force in the paint with two blocks and multiple disruptions in the frame.
“Their posts are all aggressive and physically strong, so I like a good challenge like that,” she said.
The third quarter played out the same as the first half of the game, with both teams keeping the score very tight and never letting their opponent take a lead larger than three points. The key to keeping the score tight was the Blues’ strength and grit as they established themselves on the interior very well. The frame ended with a score of 42-41 in favour of TMU.
“U of T’s always super gritty so it didn’t surprise me that they were physical,” said Clarke. “I think it took us way too long to respond to it unfortunately. They did a good job of disrupting us with their physicality.”
As the final quarter began, you could feel the tension in the air as both teams kept trying to pull away but couldn’t accumulate a lead larger than three until the final moments. The Bold had a detrimental turnover in the closing minute which the Varsity Blues capitalized on, making a transition layup to increase their lead and make the score 57-53.
TMU made a clutch three after a series of U of T free throws to bring the game within two points. However, the Varsity Blues kept their cool and made two free throws to end the game with a final score of 61-57.
The Bold are starting off the regular season 0-1, but Farwell said the team is excited for their next matchup on Wednesday against U of T once again.
“We’re excited to see U of T again, definitely going to make some adjustments and hopefully we can swing first this time,” said Farwell.
UP NEXT: TMU takes on U of T on Wednesday at Goldring Centre. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
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