The York University Lions women's basketball team lost 71-54 to the Ryerson Rams on Saturday, Jan 12 at the Tait McKenzie Centre in their second cross-town rivals game of the weekend. The loss followed a big win against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues last night also at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The Lions fell behind the Rams in the first quarter by one point as they finished the first stanza down 19-18. York guards Haley Bowie and Emma Jonas, and forward Lauren Golding all contributed five points in the first quarter of the game to help the Lions remain close to the visiting team who are currently placed second in the OUA East division.
 
In the second quarter of the game, the Lions were able to steal the lead from Ryerson. Megan Macleod and Chante Clarke were the top scorers for the Lions in the second quarter of the game and after the Rams opened up the quarter with five points, Macleod was able to secure two free throws for the Lions putting the score at 25-20 for the Rams.
 
The Lions and the Rams remained close throughout the remainder of the quarter as the Rams led 31-30 with key baskets contributed from Jama Bin-Edward. York's Clarke was able to grab the lead for York with a three-point bucket, followed by a jump shot from Alysha Pinck, and another three-point shot from Clarke, which brought the game to a 38-32 lead for York.
 
The first half of the game ended in favour for the Lions with a three-point 40-37 lead over the visitors.  
 
In the second half of the game the Rams were able to take the lead from the Lions and kept the lead throughout the rest of the game. In the third quarter Ryerson was able to score 22 points over the Lions who scored eight in the quarter, which brought the score to a 59-49 for the Rams. Ryerson kept their momentum into the fourth quarter as they scored double the amount of points scored by the Lions with 12 points for Ryerson and six for York. The Rams bounced back from the halftime deficit and finished 71-54 against the home team.
 
Bowie and Clarke were the top scorers for the Lions with ten points each for York and Ryerson's Bin-Edward contributed a total of 17 points for the Rams.
 
The Lions will be on the road next weekend to play the Ottawa Gee-Gees in Ottawa, Ont., on Friday, Jan 18.