TORONTO, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks went toe-to-toe with the University of Toronto Varsity Blues for much of the first half, but a 17-10 Toronto advantage in the third quarter helped the hosts pull away for a 62-50 victory Friday night at the Goldring Centre.
Laurier came out strong early, taking a 10-6 lead midway through the opening quarter after consecutive baskets from
Kayleigh Rawson and an early three-pointer from
Alexa Burtenshaw.
The Golden Hawks led by as many as four points before Toronto responded with a 14-5 run, fueled by guard
Janet Enge, to swing momentum in the home side's favour.
Toronto carried a 24-20 lead into the second quarter after Enge knocked down her second three-pointer of the opening frame with 15 seconds remaining.
The game tightened defensively in the second quarter, but the Varsity Blues extended their advantage behind the work of Quincie Szego, who scored eight points in the period. Laurier stayed within striking distance thanks to
Paris Matheos, whose layup with eight seconds left cut the deficit to 36-30 at halftime.
Toronto seized control coming out of the break. Chidimma Chukwunyerenwa opened the third-quarter scoring and helped spark a 17-10 period for the Varsity Blues.
A 10-2 Toronto run midway through the quarter pushed the lead to 44-34, while Chukwunyerenwa dominated the paint with six third-quarter points and strong work on the glass.
Toronto entered the final frame ahead 53-40.
Laurier attempted to claw back in the fourth, getting within 10 points on a
Keira Aikman layup with 5:23 remaining, but could get no closer.
Toronto stretched its lead to a game-high 15 points with just over three minutes remaining before closing out its first win of the campaign.
Matheos led the Golden Hawks offensively with 13 points off the bench, while Rawson added nine points and two assists. Aikman recorded a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with four points and a block, while Burtenshaw chipped in eight points and three steals.
The difference came on the glass and in the paint, where Toronto out-rebounded Laurier 44-33 and held a 34-20 advantage in points in the paint. Laurier also finished just 18-for-54 (33.3 per cent) from the field and 3-for-21 (14.3 per cent) from three-point range.
The loss dropped Laurier to 0-2 while the Varsity Blues improved to 1-1 on the season.
Up Next:
The Golden Hawks will look to earn its first win of the season when it travels to North Bay on Friday, October 30 against the winless Nipissing Lakers (0-2).
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be streamed live for subscribers on OUA.tv.
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