It will not be easy for the York Lions women’s basketball team to defend its provincial championship.
The road to the Ontario University Athletics title is strewn with daunting obstacles, including Wednesday’s OUA East semi-final against the Laurentian Voyageurs (16-7) at 7pm at the Tait McKenzie Centre. The game can be heard live on CHRY 105.5FM and seen on tape delay on Thursday at 7:30pm on Rogers York Region
The Lions (18-4) split their two-game season series against the Voyageurs this season. Laurentian snapped York’s 39-game win streak against OUA East opponents with a 92-83 win over the Lions in January in Sudbury.
But the Lions will receive a huge boost for the semi-final game with the expected return of star guard Laura MacCallum (right). The fourth-year veteran suffered an ankle injury in the loss to Laurentian and missed the final six games of the regular season.
If the Lions win tomorrow, they will face the winner of the other semi-final between the top-seeded University of Toronto Varsity Blues and Carleton Ravens. If the heavily favoured Blues win and face York, the game would be played at U of T Sunday afternoon at 1pm.
Meanwhile, the Lions men’s basketball team begins its playoff journey Wednesday at 8pm with an OUA East quarter-final against the Queen’s Golden Gaels. The Lions geared up for the playoffs with an impressive 108-91 win over Laurentian Saturday at Tait. Forward Matthew Terejko (left) led the way with 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting.
This weekend, the Lions track and field team travels to Windsor for the OUA championships. The Lions are attempting to secure as many spots as possible for the CIS championships in Montreal in March.
All other Lions winter teams have been eliminated. Three teams saw their seasons come to an end this past weekend – women’s volleyball, men’s hockey and women’s hockey.
Submitted to YFile by Mike Koreen, sport & recreation information officer in York’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health.