TORONTO – With their convincing 18-4 record, the No. 3 ranked Ryerson Rams were able to clinch first place in the OUA central division and thus, earn themselves a bye through the first round of the Critelli Cup playoffs. The Rams head straight for the quarter-finals against the Queen's Gaels to be played at home on Saturday, February 22.
The last time the Rams played the Gaels was on the road in November where the Rams powered through a sloppy second half to take home a 73-66 win.
Marin Scotten (Ottawa, Ont.) led the way with a double-double getting 10 rebounds and scoring 18 points, including three three-pointers. Seniors
Bronwyn Williams (Toronto) and
Hayley Robertson (Toronto) also scored double digit points and had seven or more rebounds.
The Gaels had four players reach double digit points including Emma Ritcey who led the team with 19 and five rebounds. Defence won that game, and it will win this coming quarter-final for the Rams.
Now knowing who they are facing and having improved considerably offensively, the Rams are looking to dominate from start to finish. The Gaels are coming off a 73-50 win against the Laurier Golden Hawks in the first round of the playoffs on Wednesday night. The Gaels only led by one at the end of the first, but were able to keep the Golden Hawks to just five points in the second and expand on their lead in the second half. Ritcey only scored two points in 28 minutes but it was Laura Donovan who came up big for the Gaels with 16 points and 4-for-5 three-point shooting. Sophie De Goede also contributed 16 points and five rebounds.
The Gaels are definitely a team that can shoot the ball, but they will have to compete with one of the best offences in the nation and the best shooters in
Rachel Farwell (Rothesay, N.B.) and Scotten. The Rams are also a strong defensive team, getting rebounds and causing turnovers, that shut down the Gaels' offence in the first half during their last matchup and have shut down a number of OUA teams' offences this season.
The Gaels definitely will not make this an easy game, but with a week of rest and preparation behind them, the Rams should come out ready to play to win, getting a much better score than their previous matchup.
The Rams host the Gaels at Coca-Cola Court on Saturday, February 22 at 6:00 p.m. ET and Ryerson students are free with their OneCard. The game can also be watched live on OUA.tv.
