By Nicholas Vanderham

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball team defeated the visiting Windsor Lancers 96-72 on a historic Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC). 

TMU entered this game ranking first in the nation following their perfect 4-0 start to the regular season.

Aside from their national position, the Bold unveiled their 2025-26 Critelli Cup championship banner, etching their achievements into the rafters to reign over the MAC court.

In the first quarter, the Bold used the raucous crowd energy to their advantage and jumped out to an early 7-2 lead. However, Windsor would not back down quickly, responding with a 10-3 run of their own to steal back the lead and game momentum.

The Bold’s game plan revolved around fourth-year forward Hailey Franco-DeRyck and her intense paint presence, which was used to box out opponents and pick up gritty buckets. 

Franco-DeRyck commented about the weight of being number one. “Now that we’re ranked number one, other teams have our names circled a lot, but to us it doesn’t feel like we’re number one.”

After an evenly-matched first quarter, the Bold zipped away with a 24-21 lead, eager to enter the second quarter and prove their place as the reigning champs.

In the second frame, the Lancers kept things close for the early part of the frame, but it was all things TMU from the eight minute mark on.

Fourth-year guards Kait Nichols and Alex Pino combined for back to back three-pointers which sparked a 21-2 Bold run, igniting the home side’s lead to a whopping 51-28. 

TMU’s blazing second stanza reminded the MAC of their offensive intensity, tripling their opponents scoring in the quarter 30-9 and leading into a comfortable halftime lead.

The third quarter was dominated by fifth-year Bold guard Myriam Kone, whose points on the night slowly approached 30.

Kone was only on half of this deadly duo though, as fourth-year guard Catrina Garvey aided in the attack from long range, dropping threes and leading to TMU’s 85-48 lead into the fourth quarter. 

In the final frame, the Bold continued to pull away despite heavy clashes with the officials. TMU’s high intensity led them to cause many fouls, but inevitably their skills and headstrong mentality was stronger.

With the win essentially in hand, TMU interim head coach Stefanija Mrvaljevic took the time to bring in most of the back-ups and younger players.

With the final buzzer sounded, the Bold claimed a dominant 96-72 victory, topping off a successful banner raising night.

Myriam Kone, who scored a career-high 35 points on the night, fell only one point short from tying the program record for most points scored in a single game.

Mrvaljevic credited Kone’s passion, describing how tonight’s performance was a “testament to the work she’s put in.”

UP NEXT: TMU host the University of Ottawa Gee-Gee’s on Nov. 13. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. at the MAC court.