Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

TMU Athletics & Recreation

THE OFFICIAL HOME OF TMU Bold
THE OFFICIAL HOME OF THE TMU Bold HOME OF THE TMU Bold
Ryerson guard Hayley Robertson dribbles past her defender.
Photo by Hung Le
84
Winner Brock Badgers BRO
71
Ryerson Womens RYE
Winner
Brock Badgers BRO
84
Final
71
Ryerson Womens RYE
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Brock Badgers BRO 23 21 20 20 84
Ryerson Womens RYE 26 12 21 12 71

Game Recap: Basketball (W) | | Leah Diseris

Rams wear silver as they fall to Badgers

TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams hosted the Brock Badgers for the Critelli Cup championship on Saturday night.

After splitting their regular season series, this championship game was truly in the air. After a strong first quarter, the Rams offence couldn't keep up with the Badgers who just could not miss. In heartbreaking fashion the Rams would fall 84-71.

"Brock's a great team," said head coach Carly Clarke. "It's a conference final, you know you're going to get a great matchup."

Bronwyn Williams (Toronto) took the tip and as always won it for the Rams. Hayley Robertson (Toronto) got possession and found Stefanija Mrvaljevic (Mississauga, Ont.) in the paint for an easy layup. The Rams got on the board first, but it would not stay that way as Brock's Melissa Tatti drained a three. Both teams would go back and forth, trading one-point leads with each possession. It would look like Brock was pulling away with a 5-0 run, but the Rams would come back to take the lead 26-23 off back-to-back Robertson threes. 

The second quarter would start off on a slower pace as the teams remained scoreless two minutes into the quarter. Marin Scotten (Ottawa, Ont.) would get the offence going for the Rams as she picked up a steal before going behind the back and finding Rachel Farwell (Rothesay, N.B.) who made the layup plus a foul. Ryerson would go on a 5-0 run and would eventually lead by eight. The Badgers would start to cut down on the lead though and would eventually get within one, taking the lead off of a Sam Keltos three. Keltos would score 26 points in the first half and the Badgers pulled away with a 44-38 lead heading into the half. 

 "It was a battle both ways," said Clarke. "We made some shots early, but we also had some defensive breakdowns, that they were able to gain some confidence on and build off of."

Keltos would start the third with another three-pointer, draining another 12 points this quarter, shooting perfect from beyond the arc. Keltos would end with a double-double, scoring a career-high 42 points and getting 12 rebounds. The Rams would have a hard time in the third giving up six turnovers and failing to shut down the Badgers' offence. On a positive note, Taite Cleland (Ancaster, Ont.) was back in the lineup after sitting out with an injury for a couple of weeks. The Rams would get most of their points in the paint this quarter as their usual dangerous three-point shooting took a backseat. The Badgers would lead by five going into the final quarter.

In a do or die fourth quarter, it was clear the Badgers were the much better team. The Badgers started off with a three and just continued to increase their lead. By the five-minute mark the Badgers led by 15 and the game was in control. The Rams would only score 12 points in the quarter including two back-to-back threes by Robertson in the dying seconds. The Badgers, who just could not be stopped, won the Critelli Cup on enemy territory with a score of 84-71.

"We would have loved to have raised a banner for our school and for everybody that was here supporting us tonight," said Clarke. "There's still a great deal of pride in the effort that this team has put in.

"We faced an incredible amount of adversity and we're proud to have gotten this far and to get a chance to play next week."

The Rams' season is not over yet as they head to Ottawa to take part in the U SPORTS Final 8. Seedings are still to be determined but the championship runs from Thursday, March 5 to Sunday, March 8. The championship will be broadcast live by CBC. 

"We want to be ready to bring home a trophy," said Clarke. "We want to be ready to go and we believe we can compete with anybody in the country, so we'll just work on regrouping and getting focused to do that."
 
Print Friendly Version