The University of Toronto women’s basketball squad dropped two games this past weekend to McMaster and Brock bringing the Varsity Blues’ pre-Christmas break record to an even four wins and four losses. On Saturday, I traveled to the U of T campus to photograph the Toronto-Brock matchup at the Athletic Centre on the corner of Spadina and Harbord.
However, I digress. In fact, before the game I digressed about 1.5km east along Harbord Street, through Queen’s Park, and along Wellesley to Yonge – the northwest corner to be exact. That would be the Not Just Noodles establishment that has – surprise, surprise – Chinese food.
May I just say their Fujian-style fried rice delivers the demanding trifecta of taste, amount, and price.
There’s my shameless plug. Now back to basketball.
The U of T squad, after winning their first four games of the season, have lost four in a row with Saturday’s 68-54 loss to the visiting Badgers. The Brock squad dominated the Blues from tipoff to final buzzer to extend their winning streak to seven games, tying them atop the OUA West standings with Windsor.
Two of Toronto’s players on the court Saturday hail from right here in Brampton, Ontario – #23 Vanessa Brathwaite and #8 Jasmine Lewin, pictured below prior to the start of the second half.
Brathwaite was kept off the scoring sheet in her 25 minutes of play but managed two rebounds and two steals. Lewin managed to shoot for 14 points and take 10 rebounds while playing 38 minutes on the floor. Below, Lewin looks for an outlet after taking in one of her nine defensive boards.
U of T head coach Michele Belanger, a seven-time OUA Coach of the Year in her 34th year (yes, 34th!) leading the Varsity Blues, tries to motivate the seemingly uninspired women’s squad.
The OUA schedule restarts January 3rd while U of T hosts Queens in the new year on January 5th.
