By Francesco Cautillo

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball team ended their season in unsuccessful fashion following a 60-58 defeat to the Carleton University Ravens on Saturday afternoon at the Ampithéâtre Desjardins at Université Laval, ending their U Sports National Championship in sixth place.

This comes after TMU’s nailbiter 68-66 win over the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds. 

To say these teams are familiar with each other would be an understatement, as this marks their third meeting of the season and the most they’ve faced all season. Their most recent matchup was the Ontario University Athletics Final, where the Bold won the game 75-60, hanging their fourth provincial championship banner.

Although this marked the third game in three days for the two sides, they hoped to strategically pace out their energy over the course of 40 minutes, whilst also leaving everything on the court to honor a long season and graduating seniors.

Fourth-year guard Myriam Kone and third-year guard Katrina Garvey combined in usual fashion, scoring a combined nine of TMU’s 13 total points in the first quarter. However, Carleton ensured to stay in contention of their Ontario rivals, playing efficient defense with textbook shot contests and clogging all the passing lanes. After ten minutes, the score was 13-11 in favour of the Bold.

The Ravens slowly found their footing coming into the second quarter, profiting off their continued success locking down their side of the court. This run gave Carleton a five point lead and momentum of the game.

Just before half time, Bold head coach Carly Clarke called a timeout, switching their defensive strategy to a more aggressive pressure. In the end however, the Ravens found a way to push through to the paint, heading into half-time leading 28-22.

During the final seconds of the half, Kone appeared to take a hit to the face, similar to last game, which remained a no-call, much to the displeasure of Clarke.

Despite Kone returning in the third quarter, her teammate Garvey sustained an injury herself, falling awkwardly on her right foot and immediately requesting trainer assistance. She would be assisted to the locker room for examination and would not return to the game.

TMU would need to step up and establish their play quickly to help their fallen teammate, and they began their charge with a successful three pointer from Kone.

As the third quarter waned down, the Bold had found their stride again in the final two minutes of the frame, gaining buckets from Kone efforts and a three-point ball from fourth-year forward Jessica Keripe.

Heading into the final ten minutes of the season, the Bold held a marginal 39-38 lead.

Kone’s dominance rolled on into the fourth quarter, finishing shots and orchestrating a TMU team who was wearing the drained stamina of a third straight match. It was moments like this when a player like Garvey was missed, as the Bold attempted to get up court quickly, resulting in missed possessions.

Despite the 2025-26 U Sports season being shrunk down to a few minutes, the game was far from over, with the Ravens leading the Bold 51-49.

Clarke began to rely on the aggressive attack and paint defense from third-year forward Hailey Franco DeRyck, who picked up two scores and a rebound in back-to-back possessions, marking an even tally.

The preceding 60 seconds would decide the final fate of these two teams, both hoping to end the athletic year with victory.

After a bobbled Raven pass flicked out of bounds, Clark quickly called a timeout, giving TMU only 20.9 seconds to win the game in regulation. Kone, with 23 points so far in the match, attempted a buzzer beater on the iso coverage, but missed, sending the game to overtime.

A Franco-DeRyck free throw stood as the sole point for just under half of the five minute overtime, before the Bold forward would make a bucket to increase her team’s lead to three.

Kone, who had played the entirety of the game so far, fell to the floor–favouring her right leg–following her teammate’s basket as she was seemingly overtaken by exhaustion and soreness over the course of both the past 45 minutes, in addition to the earlier tournament games.

Carleton quickly responded with two made three-point shots, taking a three point lead with just over a minute left and putting pressure on the Bold.

Refusing to end her season on the bench, Kone returned to the court, scoring two free throws to make it a one point game.

After forcing a missed free throw, the Bold were given a chance to keep their season alive with a successful basket. Despite 25 points, 16 rebounds, and 44 minutes of playing time, Kone was unable to bury the game-tying shot, giving Carleton a 60-58 victory.