TORONTO — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's basketball team defended their home court against the Waterloo Warriors, claiming the win 64-59. TMU's Hailey Franco-DeRyck produced an impressive all-around performance, collecting 11 rebounds, eight points and six steals.

Speaking on Franco-DeRyck's play, Coach Carly Clarke said, "She's just finding a way to be disruptive, she impacts the game in a lot of different ways. Six steals, rebounds, you know she just competes all the time."

Starting the first quarter, the Bold looked to claim the lead early, trying to prevent a first-quarter slump. Veteran Kaillie Hall was pivotal in this early run, shooting beyond the arc and drawing fouls to shoot at the line. 

"We're just trying to play by every possession, we got some stops early and turned it into offense. Nice to get to that position early," said Coach Clarke on the early lead.

Both teams were fighting at the start of the second quarter. Waterloo's defensive pressure shook up the Bold a bit, causing turnovers. Reevaluating their offense to attack the pressure, the Bold maintained their lead. 

"We just tried to have a couple different ways to attack their pressure, I thought for the most part we handled that when we were focused, I think they do a good job of switching it up," said Coach Clarke on how they switched their offensive approach.

Catrina Garvey generated some key points in the first half, driving toward the rim. She finished the game with 13 points.

Jayme Foreman was consistent in the first half, shooting 50 per cent from the three, to help the Bold keep their lead.

The Bold finished off the first half up by three, 35-32.

Looking to ramp up their defense in the second half, the Bold put more pressure on the Warriors as the score got tighter. 

TMU's Kaillie Hall did a good job at drawing fouls, generating half of her points from the free-throw line. Pushing up to the net whenever possible, no matter the obstacles, she earned an 18-point performance.

Keeping their composure, the Bold finished the third quarter up 54-47.

Wanting to finish the game with a win, the Bold kept pushing in the fourth quarter.

Franco-DeRyck fought for boards and went up tough in the paint to meet the Warriors' physical play.

Callie Wright executed an impressive 3-point play, beating the shot clock to keep the Bold up.

With the score close near the end of the fourth, the Bold worked hard to defend their court. 

Reflecting on the game against the Warriors, Coach Clarke said, "They're a super gritty team, they battle hard, they're defensive. We knew that it was going to be that type of fight today. I'm just proud of our team for keeping their composure when they cut it to two there."

The Bold will finish off their semester hosting the University of Ottawa Gee Gees on Saturday, Nov. 3. 

"We got one more week before the exam break, we're gonna play Ottawa next week who's one of the best teams, but so are we. We're looking forward to that match up to finish the semester," said Clarke.

Catch all the action on OUA.tv or come support the Bold live at the MAC. Students get in free to all TMU home games with their OneCard.