TORONTO - Hillary Woodside recorded 21 points as Brock rode an 18-point half time lead to a 63-48 victory over the Ryerson Rams on Saturday night. With the victory, the Badgers (4-2) have won four straight contests, conversely handing Ryerson (1-6) their fifth defeat in a row.
Boxscore
Although the Rams picked up their game in the second half, they could not overcome a dismal first in which they only shot 25.0% from the field. Ryerson also struggled from beyond the arc, finishing the night without a single three-point bucket.
"We had a very bad stretch in the last three minutes of the second quarter," said Rams interim head coach Charles Kissi. "We won the third and we won the fourth, but it wasn't enough."
The Badgers went up 11-4 to start the game thanks to some strong perimeter shooting in the first five minutes. Though the Rams were down, they managed to create turnovers against the Badgers, but were unable to convert on some open looks on the counter-attack. Jordan Hill picked up a bucket, and after another Brock turnover, Ashley MacDonald took the ball to the hoop and got the basket plus the harm, bringing the Rams back within four.
Ryerson tied the game up at 14 early in the second quarter, but two three-pointers from Whitney Gorges and a Woodside jumper put Brock in front once again. The Badgers continued to be deadly from the perimeter, extending their lead to double-digits, and forcing Kissi to call a timeout in an effort to stop the momentum.
Brock seemed satisfied taking outside shots, and with Gorges hot the strategy proved effective through the first 20 minutes of play. The wheels fell off the tracks for the Rams at the end of the first half, as they turned the ball over three times in the last minute, leading to six more points for Brock, who took a comfortable 38-20 lead into the locker room.
Alexandrea Tkaczyk and Ashley Clarke picked up a couple of fast-break points for the Rams early on in the second half, but still had a large hill to climb with Gorges continuing to find the basket from beyond the arc. Tkaczyk and Clarke had eight points each at the end of the third, but Ryerson was still down by 16 heading into the final period.
Woodside hit another shot from beyond the arc at the beginning of the fourth to extend the lead to 17, but Angela Tilk, who was quiet most of the game, came alive with some presence inside for Ryerson, hitting consecutive lay-ups and cutting into the Badger advantage.
Coming out of a Brock timeout, Tilk grabbed another lay-up, and then Clarke quickly added another two points after the Rams forced a quick steal with about four minutes left in regulation.
The Rams cut the lead down to as little as seven, but the scoring dried up in the final couple of minutes, and the Badgers came away with the victory.
Ashley MacDonald had her first average game of the season, tallying just 10 points along with Ashley Clarke. "Hero Burger Hero of the Game" Tkaczyk and Tilk each added eight on the night, giving the Rams their first well-balanced point effort this season.
Kissi was still more than pleased with his star player. "I don't expect her to score 21 every night, someone else has to step up," he spoke of MacDonald, who also picked up six rebounds and four steals for Ryerson.
Although the Rams are struggling to find victories, they continue to improve as a young squad. After their bench was dominated by Guelph last night, Ryerson won that battle 14-12 tonight against Brock.
"We are getting better, I'm happy with the progress," said Kissi. "It would be nice to get the (win). But we're building and hopefully we can get a win on the road (next weekend)."
The Rams will take on Laurier (5-1) and the Warriors (0-5) in Waterloo, Ont. next weekend in their final two regular season games of 2010 before the holiday break.
