TORONTO- Bojana Kovacevic dropped 17 points and five rebounds, and after an explosive 28-point second quarter, the CIS No. 3 ranked Windsor Lancers cruised to a 76-48 victory at Kerr Hall Gym on Friday night, handing the Ryerson Rams their third straight loss.
BOXSCORE
Windsor improved their record to 4-1 on the season, while the Rams drop to 1-4 on the year with a home record of 1-3.
"We had a bad first half and we weren't very aggressive," said Head Coach Charles Kissi. "It's important to compete, in the first half we didn't compete well."
The defending national champions built an eight point advantage through the latter half of the opening quarter through their rebounding and sheer shot-taking. Their 23 field goal attempts were matched with just six by the Rams, in the first 10 minutes with neither squad shooting above 27% from the floor. Although both sides were less than impressive in the first, Windsor used a buzzer-beating lay-up by Bojana Kovacevic to take a 14-4 lead into the second.
However, the Lancers found their stride in the next period quickly, going on a 9-1 run that was topped off with a three by Miah-Marie Langlois. Kissi was quick to take a timeout with his team facing a 19-point deficit just a couple of minutes into the second. The Lancers also defended all-star guard Ashley MacDonald well, not allowing the Port Colborne, Ont. native to drain a shot until the 4:47 mark of the quarter. The Rams did not make it to double-digits until late in the half.
The Lancers shored up their shooting numbers by the end of two quarters, shooting 45% and dropping six three-pointers by the end of the half. Ryerson had only three field goals in response, and found themselves down 42-11 going into the break.
Angela Tilk (Welland, Ont.) scored five straight points to open the third quarter, but the small streak was quickly put to bed with seven consecutive points by the Lancers. Back-to-back three's by Kelsey Wright (Brampton, Ont.) and MacDonald slice into the hefty Lancers advantage, bringing it down to 23.
Although the Rams would win the third quarter led by Tilk's 10 points in the period, they would still be down 57-33 heading into the fourth.
However, the Rams were lifted at the beginning of the period by MacDonald, who nailed a jumper and followed that with a long-ranger to bring the lead below 20 for the first time since the opening half. The 2011 Ryerson Female Athlete of the Year dropped 11 points in the fourth and a game-high 19, but it wasn't enough as Windsor recorded its fourth victory of the year.
Tilk finished the contest with 10 points and four rebounds, while three Lancers found double-digits, including Kovacevic, Jocelyn Lalocque (11) and Jessica Clemensen (10).
The Rams were also dominated on the glass, pulling down 20 rebounds compared to 37 by Windsor. Both teams committed 17 turnovers, while the Rams went 12-of-22 from the free throw line. Kissi remained optimistic as the Rams head into tomorrow's match against Western.
"We won the third (quarter), lost the fourth but won the second half," he said. "Those are small victories we have to focus on. It's just about getting better. We're trying to stick to the plan and execute."
The Rams will look to bring their three-game slide to a halt tomorrow evening when they will face the Western Mustangs in their final home game before the holiday break. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. and the contest can be seen on the Live Video page at www.ryersonrams.ca.
This weekend there will be a canned food drive run at all Ryerson Rams home games. Spectators who donate two canned goods get free admission to the game.
