The York University Lions women's basketball team faced off against the McMaster Marauders on Halloween night at the Tait McKenzie Centre. They Lions were looking for their first win of the season and end a seven-game losing streak against the Marauders.

In the opening minutes, the Lions came out strong as Ella Okubasu made the first layup of the game, setting the tone early. York continued to apply defensive pressure, but both teams played aggressively, leading to several fouls on each side. McMaster led 14-11 after one.

The second quarter saw both sides pressing hard, battling for every possession on both ends of the court. McMaster maintained their lead heading into halftime,30-24, with York's Kiara Leveridge being the Lions' top scorer with 11 points and Sophia Urosevic leading the way for the Marauders with nine.

McMaster maintained a two-possession lead for much of the third quarter, extending their lead to as many as eight, but the Lions refused to back down. York fought to close the gap, and after they cut it to three, a clutch three-pointer in the final seconds of the frame from Alexis Grewal tied it at 49-49 after three. York closed the third on a 10-4 run over the final 2:18.

The Lions carried their strong finish to the third into the final frame and took control of the game. They took the lead at the 7:39 mark of the fourth and never relinquished it. With the score tied at 60, Ella Okubasu made a layup to give her team the lead with 3:12 to go. From there, the capitalized from the free throw line to seal the win, their first of the year, 69-63.

Kiara Leveridge led the Lions with a game-high 19 points and 14 rebounds, securing yet another double-double.

LOOKING AHEAD:

The Lions will travel to Thunder Bay next Friday to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves. Game time is 6:00 pm, live on OUA.tv.