The York University Lions women’s basketball team hosted its annual Shoot for the Cure game Saturday night where they took on the visiting Laurentian University Voyageurs. The Lions hit double digits in the win column with a huge 80-54 victory.
The Lions wasted no time reminding the Voyageurs whose court they were on and raced ahead to a 14-point lead to finish the quarter 20-6.
In the second quarter, the Voyageurs were able to add more than triple the amount of points they earned in the first period, but this still paled in comparison to the Lions’ additional 20 points, and the Lions went into halftime with a huge 40-19 lead. More details on the York Lions website.
The win came one night after another dominant victory by a 66-48 score over the Nipissing University Lakers. The Lions wasted no time getting the game rolling, with a basket from Chante Clarke four seconds into playing time. The Lions went on to open up a big lead for the rest of the quarter. The Lakers, on the other hand, were unable to make much progress. The quarter ended 16-4 for the Lions. More details.
Shields leads men’s hockey Lions to shutout victory over Thunderwolves
Despite getting significantly out shot, the York University Lions men’s hockey team won its second straight game against the Lakehead University Thunderwolves on Saturday night with a 4-0 victory at Fort William Gardens.
Starting goaltender Mack Shields, York’s reigning male athlete of the week, continued his tremendous play with an impressive 38-save performance to earn the shutout between the pipes.
The Lions started off the scoring early in the first period with a goal from Josh LaFrance just five minutes into the game. More details.
The win was York’s second in as many nights over the Thunderwolves. On Friday night, team captain Shayne Rover scored the winning goal with just 38 seconds left in overtime.
The Lions twice trailed by two goals, including a 4-2 deficit after the second period of play. But a furious rally in the third period sent the game to the extra frame, where Rover was the hero while scoring his first goal of the season. It was a part of a three-point night as he also tallied a pair of assists in the win. More details.
Women’s hockey Lions shut out Ridgebacks on home ice
The York University Lions women’s hockey team took on the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Ridgebacks Saturday in the Lions’ first of two home games this weekend. This exciting game saw the Lions claim a 2-0 victory over the Ridgebacks.
The first period remained scoreless. Second-year forward Christina Chin scored for the Lions in the second period, giving the Lions a 1-0 lead over the Ridgebacks. More details.
On Sunday the tables were turned as the Lions were shut out by the first-place Queen’s University Gaels by a score of 4-0. The Gaels wasted little time setting the tone early, scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes of play. Hailey Wilson opened the scoring just 4:20 into the game, and Alex Maw added another at 9:42 for a 2-0 advantage after one period. More details.
Men’s volleyball Lions erase two-set deficit to win 3-2 against Lancers
The York University Lions men’s volleyball team paid a visit to the St. Dennis Centre to take on the University Windsor Lancers Saturday afternoon in their first of two road games this weekend. The Lions faced a tough match, falling to the Lancers in the first two sets before coming back to win three in a row and claim the match 3-2.
From the outset of the first set, the Lions knew they were up against some tough competition. The Lancers defeated the Lions 25-16 to take the lead in the match 1-0.
The Lions worked hard to keep up with the Lancers in the second set. The Lancers were able to reach match point by the two-point margin necessary to claim the set, with a final score of 25-23. More details.
On Sunday, the Lions lost their hold on sole possession of first place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East Division after a 3-1 loss to the Western University Mustangs. The first set was a back and forth affair in which neither team was able to establish much momentum. The Mustangs took a four-point lead at 12-8, but the Lions clawed their way back and pulled ahead themselves, at 20-18. With the Lions holding set point at 25-24, the Mustangs rallied off three straight points to win the set 26-24. More details.
Women’s volleyball Lions fall to Lancers in four sets in Windsor
The York University Lions women’s volleyball team travelled to Windsor, Ont., to take on the University of Windsor Lancers Saturday afternoon and were defeated in four sets.
In the first set, the Lancers raced ahead to an early lead and had no trouble claiming it 25-17.
Things turned around for the Lions in the second set. What began as a close score soon became a huge lead for the Lions when they racked up seven consecutive points. The Lancers were unable to recover from this and the Lions ended the set with a big win, finishing 25-16 and tying the match score 1-1. More details.
The following day, the Lions went down in three quick sets to the Western University Mustangs in London, Ont. None of the three sets were that close, with the Lions managing just 16 points in their second set for their highest scoring output of the afternoon.
It was actually the Lions that started quickly, taking a 9-7 lead in the first set. But some strong serving by Western’s Chloe Biel helped the Mustangs rattle off 15 straight points, and with a 22-9 lead they took an easy set win at 25-11. More details.
Men’s basketball Lions stay close but fall by four points to Lakers
The York University Lions men’s basketball team welcomed the Nipissing University Lakers to home court Friday night. In an eventful fourth quarter it looked as though the Lions were going to pull ahead to claim a long overdue win, but in the final seconds of the game the Lakers added a couple more points to win 75-71.
Gianmarco Luciani kicked off the scoring for the Lions with a three-pointer early in the first quarter. After the Lions set-up a seven-point lead, the Lakers went on a 17-0 run to take a big lead of their own. The Lions trailed by eight points at the end of the first at 19-11. More details.
On Saturday, the Lions were defeated by the No. 7 nationally ranked Laurentian University Voyageurs by a score of 89-80 despite a huge fourth-quarter effort.
The Voyageurs sank their first basket within seconds of tip-off, but the Lions bounced back quickly to tie up the score. The Voyageurs began to creep ahead following a few defensive errors on the Lions’ part and finished 11 points ahead of the Lions at 21-12 at the end of the first quarter. More details.
Track and field Lions out in full force at competitions in Michigan and New York
The York University track and field team travelled south of the border to compete at two different meets. The bulk of the athletes went to the Jet’s Pizza Invitational at Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, Michigan, while the pole vaulters went to the Kane Invitational hosted by Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The entire team saw huge success, earning six medals.
Christy Ihunaegbo led the women’s track results, winning the gold medal in both the 200m and 400m. Her performance in the 400m saw her set a new fieldhouse record of 55.11 seconds.
In the field, long jumper Holly Pitters claimed the gold medal with a jump of 5.92m, while Kaitlin Brooks threw 13.28m to win the bronze medal in the shot put and remain in fourth place in the national rankings.
On the men’s side, Kayden Johnson finished third in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.14 seconds to move into first place in U SPORTS. Also on the track, Xavier Jehovah claimed the bronze medal in the 60m. More details.
Wrestling Lions wrap up regular season with strong performances at Western Open
The York University Lions wrestling team wrapped up its regular season at the Western Open this past weekend in London, Ont., while some members of the squad were at the Ontario junior championships in Sarnia, Ont. The team combined for eight medals between the two meets.
Leading the way at the Western Open was Shevonne Witter-Watts, who won the gold medal in the 57kg weight class. Joining him on the podium in the same division was Hermon Kidane, who picked up the bronze medal.
Jasman Gill just missed out on top spot in the 72kg weight class, instead finishing with the silver medal. Winning bronze medals were Josh Malu in the 61kg division, Calvin Lam in the 68kg division and Ihsan Atilan in the 90kg weight class. More details.