The York Lions women's basketball team hosted the Waterloo Warriors in their season opener this evening. The Lions were looking to start the season well after missing the playoffs in their last season. 

The Lions got into foul trouble 5 minutes into the game which sent the Warriors to the bonus early in the first quarter. As a result of this the Warriors were able to generate a total of twenty points from the line. The Lions had a slow first half shooting 12.5 percent from the field goal range and generated zero threes, Ella Okubasu led the Lions in points with six, the Lions were ultimately outscored 24-9 in the first quarter. However, the Lions had strong offensive rebounding to maintain several possessions and set up key opportunities.

The Lions started the second quarter buzzing they went on an early 8-4 run to cut the Warriors lead to 11. The run was led by Katie Leudy and Kiara Leveridge who hit crucial threes each. After a timeout, The Warriors managed to stop the bleeding and went on a run on their own. The Lions managed to outscore the Warriors 18-15 in the second quarter and cut the deficit to 12. Kiara Leveridge led the half in scoring with 9 points. The score was 39-27 in favor of the Warriors, while finishing the half Naimh Heath grappled an offensive rebound, showing that the Lions were still driven and in the game. 

York outscored Waterloo 21-16 in the third quarter and they cut the lead to single digits, with Katie Leudy leading the Lions in scoring in the third quarter. Gabby Di Pietro made great defensive stops in the third quarter as well, with a block and a steal.

The Lion's persistent efforts and resilience brought them to within 6 points at 64-58 in the final five minutes of the match. Despite the late comeback efforts from York, Waterloo ended up winning the game 76-69. Ella Okubasu led the Lions in scoring with a total of 19 points.

LOOKING AHEAD: 

Up next, the Lions are set to take on the McMaster Marauders in a home game on Halloween, October 31st at 6:00 pm.