By Alex Wauthy
Cowbell ringing, t-shirt tossing and pizza party giveaways kept spirits high at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) as the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball team overcame a 10-point half-time deficit, winning their first game of the 35th annual Darcel Wright Memorial Classic over the University of Victoria Vikes 76-65 on Friday afternoon.
The school-day game saw the MAC open up to numerous elementary schools throughout the Greater Toronto Area, filling the stands with hundreds of students as the Bold played on their home court for the first time this pre-season. The persistent sound of cowbells and cheering brought a playoff atmosphere that was reflected in the game’s intense start.
“Honestly, I’ve never played in front of a crowd like that before,” first-year guard Catrina Garvey said. “It was fun and I liked that we got to put a show on for the kids—I’m glad they got to be around this environment.”
It was a tale of two teams for the Bold on Friday afternoon. Victoria commanded the paint, cleaned up rebounds and flashed their relentless defensive prowess in the first half, sending TMU to the locker room down by 10. After a much-needed change in direction, the Bold came out swinging to start the second half. A revitalized defence clogged up the paint and held Victoria to 26 points in the final 20 minutes of the game. Garvey notched 20 of her 30 game-leading points in the last two frames, leading the Bold to a come-from-behind victory.
“At halftime, we talked a lot about our defensive intensity and taking that control was the biggest piece for us,” said Bold fourth-year guard Kaillie Hall.
In the opening quarter, Hall sliced through the Vikes’ defence, getting the game’s first bucket. She followed this up with a deep two a couple of possessions later, commanding the defence’s attention as she ran the floor.
“I’ve never played in front of a crowd like that before”
Victoria third-year forward Abigail Becker got two quick blocks in the frame’s opening two minutes, setting the tone early. The game turned into a back-and-forth affair with neither team putting together any runs.
The Vikes edged out the Bold in the first quarter and entered the second leading 19-15.
Fifth-year Vikes guard Sierra Reisig took on the daunting task of shutting down the Bold’s perimeter offence. The veteran was stapled to Hall and Garvey. Reisig was relentless in the half-court, playing tight and hustling to disrupt play. Her ability to command the floor and the Vikes controlling the glass helped them pull away.
Victoria entered half-time with a commanding 10-point advantage, leading 39-29 over the Bold.
The Bold opened the second half with a 10-2 run, bringing the game within reach three minutes into the third. The high-pressure TMU defence forced seven-second violations, played suffocating defence and prevented Victoria from working the paint.
“We had two main keys [coming out of half-time],” said Bold head coach Carly Clarke. “We wanted to amp up the pressure in our full-court defence and make it tougher for them to get into what they wanted to do. The second key [was] just relaxing a little bit. It felt that we were pretty tense in some moments and a little bit in our heads, so we just wanted to play with a little more composure and calmness.”
TMU clogging the paint swung momentum in their favour. Hall tied the game on a fast break with under four minutes to go. Garvey sank her third three-pointer of the quarter to give TMU their first lead since the 2:32 mark of the first. Vikes first-year forward Makena Anderson scored four of her team-leading 22 points in the frame’s final minutes, tying the game at 50 entering the fourth.
The Bold held Victoria to a game-low 11 points in the third quarter.
“Our defence is what gave me energy and what gave everyone else energy,” Garvey said.
“At halftime, we talked a lot about our defensive intensity and taking that control was the biggest piece for us”
Following the Bold and Vikes trading dominant quarters, the fourth reflected the first—a defensive, gritty, high-foul back-and-forth game. The two squads managed just four points apiece through the first three and a half minutes.
The Vikes drilled a three, breaking the stalemate at 6:15 of the final quarter, but Garvey got one of her own, tying the game at 57. That became the story of the frame—whenever the Vikes notched a three, Garvey rifled off one of her own. Victoria tasked Reisig to shut her down, but it was to no avail. She scored 12 points in the fourth—including a four-point play and three daggers from beyond the arc—helping push the Bold past the Vikes and completing the comeback.
The Bold scored 26 in the fourth, overwhelming the Vikes defence. Garvey’s 30 points led the Bold to their second pre-season win.
“That was a really good team we played against and I’m really happy for our team to get this one and hopefully build some momentum off of it,” said Clarke.
UP NEXT: The TMU Bold look to win back-to-back games for the first time this pre-season tomorrow afternoon when they take on the Memorial Sea Hawks. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.
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