TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams women's basketball team officially start their season October 24th at home against the York Lions. The Rams are looking for a fresh start this season with four recruits and national experience as they look to capture their first Critelli Cup since 2016 and earn another berth to nationals. 

Last season the Rams hosted the 2019 U SPORTS Women's Final 8 for the first time in their history. Even though Ryerson, by default, held a spot in the championship, the Rams wanted to earn their spot in the Final 8. Unfortunately they lost in the quarter-finals in the Critelli Cup playoffs to the Carleton Ravens 74-49, which ended their OUA playoff run. 

"Carleton was certainly a tough matchup for us, and we ran into them a few times and had trouble matching up," said Rams head coach Carly Clarke. She credits the loss to wear and tear from travel and previous games, injuries that plagued them at the end of the season, and Carleton being prepared for them.

"Carleton was really ready so full credit to them, and their team on their home court is a tough place to win."

The Rams finished the regular season third in the OUA East, a better ending then the previous 2017-18 season but not the best outcome of Clarke's tenure. Rams forward Jama Bin-Edward (Waterloo, Ont.) and graduating forward and all-time points leader Sofia Paska (Etobicoke, Ont.) would receive OUA All-Star nominations.

Out of contention for a Critelli Cup, the Rams had one more shot to prove themselves in front of a national audience at the Final 8 ranked eighth overall and set to face the No. 1 seeded Laval Rouge et Or. 

As one would normally expect when a No. 1 seed faces a No. 8 seed, the top ranked Laval came out on top with a 73-51 win, but the journey was not over for the Rams. With consolation games left to play, the Rams were still in it to win it. In the consolation semifinal the Rams faced the Regina Cougars, earning their first win of the championship, beating them 63-45 to move on to the consolation finals. There they faced the Acadia Axewomen, earning another dominant 91-67 win to finish in fifth place in the championship. 

"Even though we didn't qualify through our playoffs we felt that the resume that we built over the course of the season was worthy of us being in the championship," said Clarke. "We'd love to play that game [against Laval] again but, we're pretty proud with how our team finished the weekend and to come out in fifth place, we're happy with that."

With the 2018-19 season finishing up, all eyes were on the future and so, the offseason begun which included a new recruiting class and some exciting opportunities. 

In April, Bin-Edward and graduating guard Cara Tiemens (Newmarket, Ont.) played on Team Belanger for the Women's Basketball All-Star Showcase. Later in July, Bin-Edward would head to Naples, Italy to represent Canada as part of the women's basketball team competing in the 2019 FISU Summer Universiade. On the coaching side, Clarke spent her summer overseas with the Canadian Senior Women's National Team as an assistant coach. They competed in a European Exhibition Tour and prepared for the FIBA Women's AmeriCup, the Pan-Am Games, and the FIBA Women's World Cup Americas Pre-Qualifiers. Rams assistant coach Jessica Roque also had an amazing opportunity, making history as the first Canadian woman to be part of an NBA bench. Roque joined former men's basketball coach, Roy Rana, as a guest coach for the Sacramento Kings for the California Classic Tournament. 

"There's no better experience for me than the national team and I try to bring a lot of things back to our program to help our team, our players be better, and our staff be better as well," said Clarke. "We all work to share that experience with everybody."

The Rams also had a five-player recruiting class this offseason after losing three graduating players: Paska, Tiemens, and forward Katherine Follis (Toronto, Ont.). Clarke remarked that this season they've changed their style of play and they were looking for recruits that fit into this new culture. 

"We were looking for some players that can shoot the ball and be dynamic and continue to be great people to represent our university and our program."

Clarke has nothing but high hopes for the new recruits. The first addition to the Rams was Lincoln Prep guard, Taite Cleland (Ancaster, Ont.). Next came Central Tech Prep guard Sarai Bailey (Toronto, Ont.). British Columbia native Ayden Kristmanson was next. Basketball is in her blood, as her father, Alan Kristmanson, was a member of Canada's Olympic basketball team, as well as a former coach and commentator for the Vancouver Grizzlies. Bill Crothers forward Chelsea Arruda (Vaughn, Ont.) followed.

Rounding out the class is Regina Cougars transfer Kyia Giles (Winnipeg, Man.). Sister of former Rams player Keneca Pingue-Giles, she played with the Cougars for three years where she made it to the Canada West finals and U SPORTS Final 8 every year. Even though she is redshirting this season, she brings experience and skill to the Rams for the upcoming season. 

Their physical play will show itself throughout the season, but Clarke has already seen how well they mesh with the team. "They fit in really well with our team cohesion and chemistry and what we're trying to do culture wise so, that's number one," she said. "They all bring some unique skills to the floor so, they're still finding their way with those things but, they'll be great additions and probably smaller roles initially but, growing into some more impact things over time."

With a strong recruiting class, and a slew of experienced players coming back for the new season, the Rams are looking like strong contenders. Two leaders that definitely come to mind are fifth-year guard Hayley Robertson (Toronto, Ont.) and fourth-year forward Bronwyn Williams (Toronto, Ont.) but, Clarke lists the whole team to help lead collectively. Everybody has a voice in this Rams team culture. 

The Rams will need a strong, unified team to get through their schedule this season. Clarke proclaims the OUA as the toughest conference in the country, giving props to the teams who come prepared every night to play and the coaches who prepare their teams well. Clarke wants the team to remember what it is like to play against their conference, to use their experience and how they played with pressure and expectation to help prepare them for this upcoming season. 

The team is already looking strong. They will begin the season with a winning record coming off of preseason exhibition play. The wins are great to see, bu, Clarke is more excited for how the Rams' new identity and style is taking shape. The players are gaining confidence in the way they are playing and buying into the culture and the way the team is being run. That is something Clarke wants to continue to build on throughout the season as they continue to get better. 

Speaking on preseason Clarke noticed the need for improvement in protecting the ball and capitalizing on offensive opportunities. 

"We've got to keep taking better care of the ball and continue to find great shots," she said. "We are probably most happy with our defence to this point but, that's something we want to continue to build on too."

Looking at their upcoming schedule, the Rams start off at home on October 24th against the York Lions. Then on the Saturday they travel to St. Catharines to face off against rivals, the Brock Badgers. 
Later in November the Rams face the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks for the first time in history. The 2019-20 season is the Ridgebacks' inaugural season and expands the OUA to 18 teams which created a new three-division format. On the 27th the Rams play an important home game against downtown rivals the Toronto Varsity Blues. On December 20th the Rams will head to the States for an exhibition game against the Buffalo Bulls. 

In January the Rams face a tough test against the defending OUA and national champs, the McMaster Marauders on the 8th and 29th, and also battle against rivals the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens at home the weekend of the 24th. The Rams will finish their regular season February 15th against the Laurentian Voyageurs at home. 

"With the new format there's lots of important games with our in-division teams so, York, McMaster, Lakehead, Brock, Toronto always," said Clarke. "We always have great games and I'll say rivalries with Ottawa and Carleton and certainly Carleton hosting Nationals and ending the playoff run last season, I'm sure we'll be looking forward to that one."

Coach Clarke emphasized the importance of coming prepared each night to play, not giving the opposing team the chance to run them over.  

"We're really focusing on us and trying to be our best every single day and trying to get better every single day and as long as that maintains our focus, I think we'll be on the right track to having success in the win column."

With the season just a few days away Clarke wants the conference to know that the Rams are going for the championship. 

"I want them to know that we're going to be relentless, a relentless rebounding and defensive team, that we're going to play with pace and just consistently come at you over the course of 40 minutes," are her words to opposing teams. 

The goal is the same for the 2019-20 season as it has been for the last couple of seasons and that is to bring home a championship. Coach Clarke wants the team ready to compete for one come February and March.

Come watch the Rams at their home opener, Thursday October 24, at 6:00 pm ET at Coca-Cola Court in the Mattamy Athletic Centre. The full schedule can be found here.