TORONTO — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's basketball team battled hard but came up short in a close contest against the No. 1 nationally-ranked University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, 65-63.

Despite falling short, Coach Carly Clarke was impressed with the Bold's level of play today, "I thought we had a really great compete level, there were some great moments of team basketball where we were defending together, sharing the ball. Just overall proud of the energy we played with."

TMU's Kaillie Hall scored 19 points, frequently drawing fouls and aggressively driving to the basket. 

The game began with a fast-paced energy as both teams wanted this win. Using their defensive strength to their advantage and generating shot opportunities the Bold took the first quarter, 15-13.

In the second quarter, the Bold stepped up their defensive intensity hoping to keep their lead.

Reflecting on the Bold's defensive excellence this season Coach Clarke said, "I think we've proven for most of the season that we're one of the top defensive teams in the country."

The Bold shared the ball, keeping it constantly in motion with hopes of an opening. TMU's Haley Fedick had a strong performance, capitalizing on her openings to finish with 11 points.

With both teams putting out an equal amount of 15 points each, the Bold finished the first half up by two points, 30-28.

The second half continued to be a tight battle, with both teams executing good plays. 

TMU's Kait Nichols fought relentlessly under the basket to get her hands on the ball, collecting eight rebounds.

"I think it's always like an emphasis, because our bigs are boxing out their bigs, so we need that extra support. As a guard I'm just doing what I can do to support our team," said Nichols on what drives her rebounding efforts.

Hall not only continued to draw fouls but also had some good in-game plays. 

"That's always been a big part of my game, is just trying to get downhill and find people and facilitate. Whether that's if there's a shot at the rim that's open or if there's someone on the opposite side. Just trying to draw their defender and find some openings," said Hall reflecting on what drives her offensive intensity.

Ultimately the Gee-Gees outshot the Bold, pulling ahead 52-48 after the third quarter.

With the game close and only a quarter left, the Bold were determined to put up a good fight. TMU did a good job at getting boards off their shots, generating secondary shot opportunities.

Forward Callie Wright used her strength and dominance to go up tough to the rim. She finished the game with eight rebounds and six points.

With a minute left, TMU's Jayme Foreman trusted her shot and netted a clutch three to tie up the game. 

In the end, Ottawa bested the Bold in the last seconds of game play and took the win, 65-63.

TMU will now take a short season break before finishing it off in the new year.

Coach Clarke looks to take this time off to reset and prepare for the rest of the season,"We got a month off so we'll take some time to be students and rest and recover. The players have worked really hard the first semester and when we get back after Christmas we'll dial into that game plan."

The Bold will return to action on January 11 against Carleton at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Students can attend all TMU home games for free with their OneCard.