TORONTO – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's basketball squad rolled past the McMaster Marauders on Saturday with a dominant 69-51 showing to stay atop the OUA Central.
The Bold silenced the visitors' high-octane offense throughout the final three quarters on Saturday, holding their third-straight opponent to under 55 points and adding another defensive gem to their winning carousel.
"Collectively, we take a lot of pride in our defensive game and really holding teams to low scoring," said fifth-year guard Kaillie Hall.
"I think that's ultimately what helped propel us [tonight] and also just taking control of the game and trying to find moments where we can control things," she added.
Hall led the floor with 19 points, going 10-12 from the free-throw line, while Kait Nichols and Catrina Garvey contributed 11 points respectively. Hailey Franco DeRyck grabbed 14 rebounds in the rout.
Trailing the Marauders 22-16 in the opening quarter and struggling to contain the second-best offensive unit in the province, the Bold rallied around their veterans to take a 38-34 lead heading into halftime.
"I thought we responded really well," said head coach of the Bold Carly Clarke following the game. "That allowed us to just get out in offensive transition in that second quarter and we were just able to carry some momentum."
Hall and Foreman found their offensive groove in the middle frame to the tune of four and six points respectively to help fuel a 11-2 and 9-0 run and emphatically dig the home side out of a six point deficit.
The Bold paced the floor on the offensive side of the ball throughout the second quarter, shooting over 50 percent from the field and nailing all six of their attempts from the line to employ the pressure on the Marauders.
By the time Foreman landed her last-second jumper in the quarter (a coincidental response to the one McMaster's Emily Francovic nailed to close out the first) the Bold held an authoritative grip on the game's momentum leading by four.
TMU added some distance between themselves and the Marauders in the early stages of the third, jumping out to a 9-2 run to steer aside any lingering ideas the visitors may have had of a fresh start.
Returning to action for the first time since her injury, Garvey made her presence felt in the third with a pair of threes to open the floodgates for the Bold from beyond the arc.
"It was great to have her back in the lineup, obviously she changes spacing on the floor for us with her shooting ability and we benefited from that tonight," praised Clarke of her sophomore.
The group capped off the frame cashing in on three of their four attempts from distance–a game-high 75 percent success rate–to outscore their opponent 20-8 in the quarter and manufacture a 16-point lead the Marauders failed to recover from in the fourth and final frame.
Winners of seven consecutive games, the Bold enter a pivotal road matchup with the Brock Badgers at an all-time high, with play on both sides of the ball being a strength of theirs.
"Brock is always a fun one," said Hall, a member of the National Championship squad that secured the title in Brock's gym in 2022. "Historically, we've had some great games in that gym so we always just get up for the matchup."
Leading the OUA Central with the Badgers directly behind them, Wednesday's matchup will provide the Bold a chance to pick up some breathing room atop the division table, with top off set for 6 p.m.
