The York Lions women’s basketball team defeated Ottawa and Carleton on the weekend to clinch first place in the Ontario University Athletics East Division. With the victories, the Lions (16-3) extend their winning streak to seven games and have secured home-court advantage throughout the OUA playoffs. Sarah Brodie and Laura MacCallum recorded a game-high 16 points in Friday’s 67-41 victory over Ottawa, while first-year guard Tara Minicuci had a game-high 21 points in Saturday’s 86-44 win over Carleton.
York has three regular season games remaining before the post-season. The Lions will receive a first-round bye before hosting the OUA East semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 21. If the Lions win their semifinal contest, they will also host the East Final on Saturday, Feb. 25. Ticket prices for both games are $5 for adults, $3 for all students/seniors, children 12 and under are free. To order tickets or for more information, contact Sport York Communications and Promotions Officer Kimberly Moser at kmoser@yorku.ca or ext 55982.
Right: First-year guard Reanne Holden of the York Lions women’s basketball team
The Lions men’s basketball team (11-8) handed the number-two ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees just their second loss of the season with a thrilling 95-89 overtime win on Friday night. York centre Jordan Foebel had a monster game, recording a double-double with 22 points and 21 rebounds, while shooting 10-of-14 from the floor. Guard Tut Ruach also recorded a double-double with a game-high 25 points and 11 assists in 42 minutes of action. Ruach had a team-high 15 points in Saturday’s 71-51 loss to Carleton. The men’s and women’s basketball teams will host Queen’s on Friday and RMC on Saturday at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The women’s volleyball team won three matches last week. Elizabeth Salas-Chavez recorded a match-high 14 kills and 17 points in Thursday’s 3-1 win over McMaster. In Saturday’s 3-0 victory at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, she again had the match-high in kills with 13 and points with 14. Salas-Chavez then added a team-high 14 kills and 15 points in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Lakehead. The Lions have won four in a row and sit in third place in the OUA East Division, two points behind second place Ottawa with two games remaining in the regular season.
The men’s volleyball team defeated McMaster, 3-1, on Thursday before having its seven-game winning streak snapped by Toronto on Sunday. Sholan Trivedi led the way with a team-high 17 points, 16 kills and nine digs against McMaster. The Lions are in fifth place in the OUA, two points behind fourth-place McMaster. The York volleyball teams play their final two regular season matches at RMC and Queen’s this weekend.
For the second consecutive week, Marlon Nangle of the Lions track and field team set a new York University record in the triple jump. His performance of 15.30 metres at the York Classic on Saturday beats his record-setting performance of 15.25 metres at the McGill Team Challenge last week. The result is also a new meet record for the 35-year-old event. The track and field teams recorded 11 personal best and 17 OUA qualifying performances. Konstantin Baibakov finished first in the 60-metre dash, while Dane Clarke was a close second. Wendy Clarke won the women’s 300 metre run, while Kaitlin Coopman was third. The Lions are at the Windsor Team Challenge this weekend.
The women’s hockey team tied Brock, 4-4, on Friday before dropping a 3-0 decision to Queen’s on Sunday. Amanda Cole, Jennifer Kramar, Dorothy Aniuk and Stacy Hornburg scored against Brock, while goaltender Seanna Conway made 43 saves. Melanie Quinn made 30 saves between the pipes for the Lions versus Queen’s. York (5-8-7) is tied with Windsor (6-9-4-1) for the final playoff spot. Both teams have four games left in the season and will face each other this weekend in Windsor.
The men’s hockey team split a pair of weekend games with Windsor. The Lancers won the opener, 4-0, on Friday night before the Lions responded with a hard fought 2-1 victory on Saturday. Darryl Thomson scored on the power play to open the scoring in the second period, and Trevor Penrose’s first of the season in the third proved to be the winner. Goaltender Kevin Druce made 24 saves to pick up his tenth win of the year. York (10-9-1-2) sits four points behind Laurier (12-7-2-1) for top spot in the Mid West Division with only two games remaining in the regular season. The Lions host Brock (7-11-2-2) on Thursday before traveling to Laurier for a contest that could decide the division winner.
This article was submitted to YFile by Jim McLarty, sport & recreation information officer in York’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science.