The York University Lions women's basketball team escaped with a thrilling victory on Saturday night as they took down the Nipissing Lakers by a score of 68-64 for their third straight win.
 
Outstanding performances by Katrina Collins-Samuels (Hamilton, Ont.) and Ishanaa Seupersadsingh (Markham, Ont.) were the catalysts for the completion of an absolute thriller and a great comeback after trailing by nine points in the third quarter.
 
With 26 seconds left Collins-Samuels gave her team the lead with an astoundingly athletic three-point play. She finished with 14 points and five rebounds in the game and the Lions are now in the midst of their longest winning streak of the season. The victory improved their record to 5-9 on the year.
 
Seupersadsingh lead all York scorers with six points in the first half and she would also end up as the game's leading scorer with 16 points. She did her damage with two deep shots from beyond the arc. However, Nipissing's Heidi Smith was able to match and raise her shooting performance in the second quarter with three trey balls of her own. A hot first half of shooting would ultimately give the Lakers a 32-25 lead entering halftime.
 
Entering the second half with a seven point deficit, a new hustle was present in the game as all the Lions on court played like pests, tying up the Nipissing ball handlers and diving to the ground to gain possession of loose balls. This effort aided the Lions in creating more shot opportunities for their playmakers. Nina Guzina (Toronto, Ont.) showcased her skill late in the third when she advanced the ball into the Lakers zone, pump faked, side stepped and then finally threw up a mid range jumper that would hit nothing but net.
 
On the ensuing Lakers possession she ripped the ball out of the ball handlers arm's and prevented any more points from being scored in the quarter, but the Lions lost ground on the Lakers and trailed 44-35 heading into the final frame.
 
As the final quarter began, the Lions started chipping away at the deficit. Seupersadsingh drove to the basket and then hit Sandra Nagowska (Niagara Falls, Ont.) for the backdoor feed and the and-one. Nagowska would hit the shot to complete the three-point play and rejuvenate her trailing Lions squad.
 
Three-pointers on back-to-back possessions from Seupersadsingh and Collins-Samuels were momentous in bridging the gap with just over three minutes left in the game. Later, Seupersadsingh was not finished yet as she hit another three, this time with a closing defender in her face, to gain a 62-61 lead with just over a minute left in the game, York's first lead since being up 25-24 in the second quarter.
 
The lead didn't last long, however, as the Lakers scored three points on their next two possessions to take a 64-62 lead, but Collins-Samuels played the hero as time wound down, weaving through the lane to hit a layup and getting the call for a foul that iced the game.
 
The schedule gets a lot tougher for the Lions next week as they will head downtown on Wednesday evening to face the defending OUA champion Ryerson Rams at the Mattamy Athletic Centre beginning at 6pm.