By Aswin Priyadharshan

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball team finished off their final regular season game of the year in a monstrous 89-50 win against the Lakehead University Thunderwolves at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Saturday night. 

With this win, the Bold hold the second best record in the Ontario University Athletics with a 20-2 record.

On Senior Night, when the Bold’s veteran players were given their flowers and a final send off, the team looked to play in dominant fashion, and dominant they were. The first quarter showcased a defensive clinic from the Bold forcing the Thunderwolves to go zero for 16 and gaining a 20-point lead.

Head Coach Carly Clarke had high praise for her team’s performance on the defensive end of the ball. “I think we demonstrated quite a bit of discipline,” said Clarke. “Our scoring got going early, but I think we generated a lot of offence because of our defence and made some good decisions on both ends.”

In the second quarter, the Bold continued to put the pressure on defense that came alongside strong offensive performances, most notably from fourth-year guard Myriam Kone with 14 first half points and third-year guard Catrina Garvey who had 12 first half points.

Coming out of the first half, third-year forward Hailey Franco DeRyck had some foul trouble, picking up two early in the third quarter. In most other instances, this could be a momentum shifting moment in the game but the Bold stayed resilient using quick ball movement and hunting for steals that led to quick fastbreak points, giving them a 71-40 lead at the end of the quarter. 

Garvey opened the fourth quarter with a three pointer to extend the lead. This was then followed up by strong defensive pressure from Kone and DeRyck to force two steals which led to another jumpshot from Garvey before Clarke decided to send her bench players out to end the game.

Heading into the playoffs, fifth-year forward Eternati Willock explains her and her team’s mindset in order to win the national championship.

“Right now we’re just trying to stay to our principles and stay disciplined,” Willock stated. “We don’t wanna go back to our old habits such as not letting them drive and giving the other team what they want instead of us controlling the face and tempo of the game. We keep our foot on the pedal.” 

UP NEXT: Having secured a bye through the first round of the Critelli Cup Playoffs, the Bold will host the quarterfinals at the MAC on Feb. 21.