The York University women's basketball snapped out of a five-game slide and picked up their first win of 2019 with a 69-61 victory over their cross-town rivals the Toronto Varsity Blues in front of a full gym at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night.
 
The Lions started the game strong, scoring on their first two shots of the game. The first came on a three from guard Haley Bowie, and the second on a driving layup by forward Lauren Golding. Two baskets from Megan MacLeod and layup from Alysha Pinck followed and the Lions jumped out to an early 11-2 lead less than three minutes into the game. The home squad cooled off after their hot start as the Blues crept back into the game and led the Lions 17-16 at the first quarter break.
 
Megan Stewart snapped the Lions out of an offensive dry spell at the six-minute mark of the second quarter with a big three-ball to cut Toronto's lead to 21-19. The game turned into a defensive battle for the remainder of the second quarter, with both teams' strong defensive plays causing turnovers at both ends of the floor. Another Bowie three-ball put the Lions out in front 25-24 with two minutes left in the quarter. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half and the Lions went into half time with a 28-27 lead.
 
Bowie, MacLeod and Stewart each had six points in the half to lead the Lions, while Mahal De La Durantaye lead the Blues with nine points.
 
Both teams came out aggressively in the second-half as they started to find their offensive rhythm. Point guard Emma Jonas scored her first basket of the game early in the half, getting fouled on a hard drive to the basket and completing the three-point play to give the Lions the early momentum. The Lions increased their lead throughout the third quarter and pulled ahead by ten points 47-37 with two minutes left in the quarter on a nice layup by senior Chante Clarke and a took a 47-40 lead into the final quarter.
 
At the midway point of the fourth quarter the Lions maintained their seven-point lead at 58-51. A physical game led to a slow-paced start to the final frame, as both teams got in foul trouble, with Bowie and Durantaye both fouling out with just over five minutes remaining. Jonas brought the crowd to their feet with a big three pointer after a nice kick out by Clarke after Toronto had narrowed the lead to three points. Jonas again had the crowd roaring after she crossed up a Varsity Blues defender and pulled up for a nice jumper that gave the Lions a six-point lead with just under two minutes left. Clarke then picked off a Varsity Blues pass and went coast-to-coast to put the game on ice with a minute left, with the Lions winning by a final score of 69-61.
 
MacLeod had a big game for the Lions with a double-double, netting a team-high 13 points to go with 12 rebounds. Golding also had a strong game with nine points and a career-high 15 rebounds, while Jonas had 11 points and several key baskets in the second-half. Durantaye led the Blues with 16 points while shooting 66.6% from the field.
 
The Lions will be at home again tomorrow night when they face their other cross-town rivals the Ryerson Rams at 6pm at the Tait McKenzie Centre.