Ring, Soriano roll through the ‘6’ grabbing key wins
The Gee-Gees women’s basketball team had a busy road weekend, as they traveled to Toronto and earned hard-fought, back-to-back victories over the University of Toronto and Ryerson.
The team’s impressive performance in both games is a testament to the current strength of the program, and further performances against worthy opponents will solidify the return of elite-level women’s basketball at the U of O.
The Garnet and Grey are currently the tenth-ranked team in the nation, with an impressive 9-1 record on the season.
On Jan. 22, the Gees squared up against the Toronto Varsity Blues in their brand-new digs at the multi-million dollar Goldring Centre on the U of T campus.
Despite the Blues’ mediocre 3-5 record, they stormed out early and hung with the Gees throughout the game. Toronto even held a halftime lead before the Gee-Gees cranked up the defence resulting in a 69-62 victory.
Fourth-year guard/forward Kellie Ring was the best player for the Gees, as she paced the team with 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds. A standout performer for Blues was guard Rashida Atkinson, who finished with a game-high 15 points, while adding three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
The next night, the Gee-Gees played in what proved to be an even more grueling match against a more formidable opponent. The Gees needed a late overtime buzzer beater to upset the fourth-ranked Ryerson Rams by a score of 76-73.
Point guard Julia Soriano had the hot hand for the Gee-Gees, as she scored eight of Ottawa’s 12 overtime points, including a clutch three pointer with just 5.1 seconds left in OT.
Ring was also great in the game as she recorded a monstrous 20 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.
Next up for the team is a pair of home games against Queen’s and York on Jan. 29 and 30. Queen’s is currently ranked just above the Gee-Gees at ninth in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport rankings. The matchup will provide another key opportunity to prove the team’s place among the top in the country.
