By Harsh Kumar
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball team ended their regular season home slate with a 74-66 win against the York Lions on Feb. 14 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
Fourth-year Bold guard Kaillie Hall and first-year guard Catrina Garvey were the stars of the night as they finished the game with 20 points and 19 points, respectively.
“She’s a fantastic penetrator so she really helps our offence,” said Garvey on Hall’s performance.
The Bold were looking to end their final home regular season game on a high note against their inter-city rivals, as they looked forward to the playoffs.
With the win, the Bold secured home-court advantage for the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs.
TMU still sits one game back of the Brock Badgers for first place in the OUA Central division. A win against the Lions in their final game of the season on Saturday, combined with a loss by the Badgers against the Nipissing Lakers will tie the two teams’ record at 16-6—in which the Bold hold the tiebreaker for the first seed.
The game started as a close contest between both sides. But, due to the Lions’ shooting woes, the home side ended the first quarter up by six points off a three-pointer by first-year guard Alex Pino.
However, the Lions battled back in the second quarter, scoring 11 points off of the Bold’s five turnovers in the frame.
“Every possession matters when it’s playoff time”
“We need to continue to be able to play a little bit more physically and handle a little bit more physicality,” said Bold head coach Carly Clarke.
The Lions outscored the Bold 25-14 in the second and took a five-point lead into halftime. The Bold struggled with taking care of the ball as they ended the first half giving up 11 turnovers to the Lions’ six.
“I think we didn’t get stops so we didn’t get to outrun as much. I thought we played well in transition at the start,” said Clarke.
TMU came out flying in the second half as they went on a 12-2 run. The Lions kept the game within arms reach as both teams traded blows down the stretch, but a late three by first-year forward Corrynn Parker kept the Bold up three heading into the final quarter.
The Bold—with a rocking crowd behind them—kept the momentum going in the fourth as they jumped to an early nine-point lead. The home side dominated in the paint as they outscored the Lions 12-4 in that category in the quarter.
But TMU’s once 11-point lead in the quarter dwindled to just one point with under two minutes to play in the game as the Lions stormed back in search of the win.
Despite the Lions’ late push, the Bold held on to secure the win and close out their last home game of the regular season.
“We got to be ready to battle for 40 minutes every game,” said Clarke. “We have to make sure we’re taking care of the ball and continue to execute on both ends because every possession matters when it’s playoff time.”
UP NEXT: The Bold head to York’s home turf for their final regular season game on Feb. 17. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
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