By Evan Davis
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball team marched their way into the Bob Davis Gymnasium to hand the Brock Badgers a 73-65 loss in the quarterfinals of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs.
The Badgers were a perfect 11-0 at home this season. The home side were as hot as ever heading into the post-season, winning 12 of their last 13 games, but couldn’t muster enough baskets in the second half to defeat TMU.
The Bold, who were down 22 points during the Critelli Cup matchup in the same building two years ago, found a way to dig themselves out of the mud—erasing a 15-point deficit this time to secure the victory.
With the win, the Bold punched their ticket to the OUA semi-final on Feb. 28 and now await the winner of the Guelph Gryphons and Queen’s Gaels matchup.
Heading into the contest, the Bold and Badgers had split the season series. TMU took care of business on their home court earlier in the season in a 71-48 win, while the Badgers defended their home court winning 78-56.
The Bold began the game cold from the outside as they missed their first eight shots, allowing the Badgers to jump out to an early double-digit lead. The Badgers did a great job defensively, forcing the Bold into four turnovers in the first quarter.
Fourth-year Badgers guard Angeline Campbell was superb in the first quarter, connecting on some early triples and contributing to 11 of the team’s first 18 points.
Third-year Brock guard Madalyn Weinert was a pest on the offensive glass in the contest, snatching eight offensive rebounds leading to numerous second-chance opportunities for the Badgers.
Second-year Bold guard Jayme Foreman got the offence rolling for the Bold in the second quarter, knocking down three of her first four attempts from beyond the arc. She finished with a team-high 23 points on the afternoon while also snagging six rebounds.
However, both teams had trouble shooting in the second, with the Bold shooting 25 per cent from the field and the Badgers shooting 22.2 per cent.
The Badgers lead grew to 15 courtesy of Campbell and Weinert, but it was quickly cut down to two before the half ended. First-year TMU guard Catrina Garvey connected on her first two three-point attempts to help the Bold’s late second-quarter push.
Going into the second half, the momentum was now in the hands of the visitors. The Bold capitalized to the tune of nine straight points to begin the third quarter, making it a 25-3 run and giving them their first lead of the afternoon.
Garvey carried the load for her team in the second half, as she scored 15 of her 21 points in the third and fourth quarters. Brock tried everything in their power to find a way to claw back into the game, but the Bold wouldn’t budge. TMU hit every key shot, with Garvey going on a heater, knocking down three of four three-point attempts.
Brock opened the final quarter on a 5-0 run after a triple from Weinert and a layup from Campbell to restore the Badgers lead.
However, the Bold responded with a 9-2 run of their own and never looked back.
The Badgers’ mishandling of the ball during the final frame hurt them in the end as TMU scored seven points off of their six turnovers to secure their spot in the semi-final.
UP NEXT: The Bold await the winner of the Queens Gaels and Guelph Gryphons as they make their way to the OUA semi-finals.
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