By Jasmine Makar

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball team took down the undefeated Queen’s University Gaels in a tense face-off at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) after a furious fourth quarter comeback.

Queen’s immediately brought the energy to the court after winning 17 straight games in the regular season. The game started off with the Gaels’ second-year point guard Brooke Hussey, scoring the first point of the game. 

The Gaels continued to dominate with their defence blocking back-to-back shot attempts made by third-year guard Catrina Garvey. After a missed shot from the three-point line, Garvey was able to corral the rebound that landed inside of the paint and scored the putback for TMU. 

With the Bold still finding their footing, Queen’s took advantage, increasing their lead, proving their offence to be dominant. Fifth-year forward Mikayla McFarlane attempted a tough shot while falling to the ground and was successful, immediately sparking cheers from Queen’s fans who filled the stands. 

The first quarter also showed off fourth-year guard Myriam Kone’s on-court presence. A force throughout the match’s entirety, Kone would end the night with a game-high 28 points.

The second quarter started slowly with Queen’s maintaining their lead and their supporters growing scrappier from the stands, many of whom directed their comments towards Kone. Unbothered by their noise, she just used it as more motivation. “I mean, I love it, you love to hear it…but at the end they were silent, so that’s all I gotta say.”

Despite TMU’s efforts, they were unable to take the lead due to Queen’s dominant defence and physicality, leaving the second quarter with a 28-36 score. 

“Their size but also their physicality really disrupted us and took us out of our rhythm a little bit,” said head coach Carly Clarke on the Gaels’ strength during the first half. 

TMU came in hot at the start of the third with Garvey stealing the ball and scoring from behind the arc. Soon after, Kone immediately jumped into action with a layup off a steal from Garvey, running past Queen’s defence and bringing their lead down to seven. 

With a minute left in the frame, the Bold had an opportunity to take the lead for the first time but couldn’t capitalize, ending the quarter with Queen’s leading 52-51. 

TMU came into the fourth quarter with even more energy, the MAC filled with a heightened sense of electricity.

“In the first half, we were kinda like ‘Energy is flat, we need to bring it and we need to bring more effort, we need to work harder,’ and I think everybody that came in today had a great shift and impacted in some way,” said Kone.

The Bold eventually tied the score thanks to a basket by third-year forward Hailey Franco DeRyck. The atmosphere and tension in the room became increasingly apparent with Garvey scoring another three to advance them further ahead.

“It really all stemmed from our grit…we had to be the first team on the floor, hustling through loose balls, getting those rebounds, not letting them get second chances. So all of that combined, plus our connection that grew during the second half, really built us up to get us that victory,” Garvey said about her team’s efforts in the final stretch.

The Bold pushed through and wrestled Queen’s for the lead, but with 35 seconds left on the clock, Kone sank a three-pointer, bringing the crowd to a frenzy. The match ended 75-66 in the Bold’s favour, with the blue and gold flooding the court to celebrate their win as they ended the longest winning streak in the OUA.  

“We turned them over a bunch, which was critical to us getting some easy scores and getting going offensively,” said Clarke. “You always wanna beat a great team…and it’s proof that we can contend if we keep doing the things we need to do.”

UP NEXT: The Bold will have a chance to extend their win streak to two as they take on the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks tomorrow at the MAC. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.