The York University Lions women's basketball team beat the Ryerson Rams, the No. 4-ranked team in the country, in an exciting game on Friday, Feb 15 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre by a score of 72-69. Forward Lauren Golding drained a three-pointer as time expired to give the Lions the thrilling upset victory and punch their ticket to the 2018-19 OUA playoffs.  
 
The Lions were off to an early and powerful start against the Rams. Haley Bowie was able to secure York's first two points and Golding followed with another two points for York. Ryerson was able to put themselves on the scoreboard but York widened their lead when Bowie scored a 3-point shot, giving the Lions a 7-2 lead. York's Cyanna King was also able to contribute two points of her own and Golding made another two-point basket shortly after. At the end of the first quarter the Lions, who were also aided by strong play by Megan Macleod and Madeline Weber, led 17-11 against Ryerson.
 
In the second quarter both teams threw down 20 points to add to their respective scores. King was able to open and end the quarter with a two-point shot. Both Golding and Bowie nailed three-point shots and Macleod had another quarter. At the end of the first-half of the game the Lions were still leading by six by a score of 37-31.
 
The Rams came back in the third quarter, as the Rams outscored the Lions by seven points and went into the fourth quarter leading 50-49.
 
In the final frame, the Lions fought until the very last second of the game to secure their huge win over the Rams. The fourth quarter was fueled by key buckets from Golding and King. Seconds after the beginning of the final quarter, Golding secured another two points to put the Lions ahead of the Rams once again. This was answered by Ryerson's Hayley Robertson's jump shot, which pulled the lead back in the Rams' court as they led 52-51 and the game stayed close throughout the remainder of the quarter.
 
When the Rams were slightly ahead, leading 56-51, Golding was able to give another two points just before point guard Emma Jonas secured a three to begin to close the gap. King made another appearance on the scoresheet in the quarter as she provided another two points for York with 6:37 remaining, separating the teams by a one-point margin. Bowie's successful free throws brought York ahead of Ryerson for a 59-58 lead.
 
The remainder of the game saw the two Toronto teams go back and forth and after King scored another four points and Golding scored another six the Lions and the Rams were tied 69-69 with just two seconds remaining in the game.
 
On the ensuing inbounds play after a timeout, Golding caught the inbounds pass and immediately shot a deep three pointer that found nothing but net to give the Lions a 72-69 win and send Lions nation into a frenzy. The win clinched a playoff spot for the Lions who will go into the post season as the fifth-seed in the OUA East. They will face the fourth-seeded Queen's Gaels in the opening round of the playoffs next week.
 
Golding had a phenomenal game for the Lions with a game-high 24 points to go along with eight rebounds. She was followed by King who scored 15 and game-high nine rebounds, while Bowie had ten points and six assists. Ryerson's Sofia Paska and Haley Robertson were both tied at 15 points for the top scorers for the Rams.
 
The Lions will be bringing this game winning energy to their final regular season game as they battle the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at the Goldring Centre on the U of T campus tomorrow. The game will start at 6pm.