TORONTO — A fourth-quarter comeback bid came one-point short for the TMU Bold women's basketball team on Wednesday night at the Goldring Centre, as they were unable to force overtime and fell 57-56 to the Toronto Varsity Blues.

TMU had a flurry of attempts to take the lead in the dying moments — including a Jayme Foreman heave from long-range — but ultimately Toronto weathered the storm and emerged with a victory in their home opener.

The win capped off an impressive pair of games for the Varsity Blues, who also won 61-57 in the Bold's home opener on Saturday night.

TMU took a four-point lead into the second half, but said lead was short lived. The Varsity Blues outscored the Bold 14-5 in the third — a frame the team shot just 2-11 from the field in — to take a 49-44 lead into the fourth. From there, Toronto got buckets from four different players in the final frame, including a Faith Joseph lay-up that put her side up two with just over two minutes to go — a basket that ultimately stood as the game-winning bucket for the Varsity Blues.

A 13-point performance from Lauren Boers and 12-point night for Joseph paced the Varsity Blues.

Despite the loss, Kait Nichols had a terrific night for TMU. The first-year guard had the biggest game of her young Bold career, stuffing the stat sheet with a 10-point, 14-rebound, five-assist, five-steal performance. Rachel Farwell chipped in a game-high 18 points, as well as a game-high four blocks to help keep the Bold in the game throughout the evening. Foreman also reached double digits with a 12-point outing.

It's hard to look past the Bold's inability to convert the easy ones from the free-throw line as the difference in the game. TMU converted on just nine of their 21 attempts from the charity stripe, in comparison to Toronto who went 9-for-12.

TMU, who now sit at 0-2, will have their next chance to pick up their first win of the season on Friday night, when they return to the Mattamy Athletic Centre for a meeting with the Waterloo Warriors. TMU, who will meet Waterloo for the first time since Jan. 15, 2020, has won their last 10 games against the OUA West foe, dating back to Nov. 12, 2011. 

Tip off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.