The York University Lions women's basketball team lost against the Laurier Golden Hawks by a score of 88-44 on Friday (Nov. 14) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The victory was inspired by the Golden Hawks' Whitney Ellenor, who scored the first basket of the game after an offensive rebound. Ellenor ended the contest with a game-high 16 points.
 
The Golden Hawks were efficient with the breakaways as the Lions committed several turnovers, most of which Laurier converted. Lee Anna Osei led the runs in scoring on the counter.
 
Despite a number of attempts by the Lions to turn the tide around, the first quarter ended with the home team trailing 24-11.
 
The Lions made a few highlights in the second quarter. Haley Bowie (Ancaster, Ont.) dribbled past three players and executed a lay-up in traffic. However, the Lions were unable to stop the opposition from capitalizing on the misses. With less than six minutes left, Laurier's Kaitlyn Schenck shot a three-point to make it a 20-point gap between the two teams.
 
The Lions' scoring drought was broken by a spectacular three-point shot from Emma Thompson (London, Ont.), but by halftime, the visiting team led by a score of 50-19.
 
Inside the third quarter, the Lions looked to diminish the gap by scoring 14. The Lions showed improvement with better ball movements and their plays were aided by turnovers committed by the opposition.
 
The quarter ended with the Golden Hawks still leading 71-33.
 
The final quarter saw the Lions lacking sharpness on possession, missing chances on the offence. They went scoreless for four minutes until Thompson, again, broke the drought with a shot from downtown.
 
Almost immediately after Thompson's heroics, Erika Di Loreto (London, Ont.) made a steal in half-court and recorded a basket on the breakaway. However, it was too little, too late as the Golden Hawks' rebounds were key to their victory. The team recorded a combined number of 38 rebounds.
 
The Lions will be looking for their first win of the season against the Guelph Gryphons on Wednesday (Nov. 19) in Guelph, Ont., beginning at 6pm.