By Mitchell Fox
On an emotional Senior Night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC), the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball team lost 62-57 to the York Lions on Saturday evening, snapping their eight-game winning streak.
The Bold hosted Senior Night for their final home regular season game, celebrating graduate guard Kaillie Hall, fourth-year forward Lauryn Meek, fourth-year guard Jayme Foreman, fourth-year forward Haley Fedick and graduate forward Callie Wright for their careers as a Bold athlete.
Rather than host ceremonies before the game as TMU teams often have, the Bold honoured their seniors in between the women’s and men’s basketball team games. Head coach Carly Clarke shared words about each of the graduating players’ impact on and off the court and urged those with a year of eligibility remaining—Meek, Foreman and Fedick—to return next year.
Clarke said it is always special to celebrate players who have made significant contributions to the program.
“I think that’s the thing I love the most about coaching: seeing them grow and develop, obviously as players, but also as people,” she said. “Hopefully their experience has impacted them in a positive way. But the way they’ve impacted me during their time is always massive.”
Though Hall had been part of last year’s Senior Night farewells before returning for her fifth year of eligibility this season, the night was special for her.
“[It was] definitely way more emotional than last year, to be honest,” she said. “I think that’s just super telling of the culture and my experience here. There’s no better experience, in my opinion, than playing at TMU.”
On the court, the Bold did not have as easy a time as they did in their last four games—all won by at least 18 points—as they had their hands full with fourth-year Lions guard Kiara Leveridge, who sits second in points per game in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA). Leveridge scored 19 points in the first half before the Bold locked her down, only for her teammates to step up.
“We got there eventually, but in the OUA, you can’t take time to get there on any night,” said Hall. “Tonight, it just took us a little too long to get our feet under us.”
The first quarter kicked off with a bang, though not a ton of buckets. Second-year Bold forward Hailey Franco DeRyck went straight to the basket with speed, missing a layup to start a series of misses for both teams.
Second-year Lions forward Ella Okubasu opened the scoring with a layup before Fedick answered in kind for the Bold, setting the stage for a fierce matchup in the paint.
Foreman showed her offensive prowess as the Bold sought to take control. She hit a corner three-pointer to give the Bold a 7-6 lead, then went back-to-back by finishing a play that started with a block by Wright.
Nevertheless, Leveridge continued dominating, mixing layups under the basket and floaters from the paint. The Lions, led by Leveridge and fourth-year forward Alexis Grewal, drew from plenty of offensive rebounds and generated second-chance opportunities.
“I think some things get exposed a little bit. Credit to York, they did a good job pursuing some rebounds, made some timely plays,” said Clarke.
On the home side, Franco DeRyck was a force in drawing fouls. Her speed and tenacity made an instant impact in the first half, playing tough defence in the paint and driving hard whenever a fast break opportunity opened up.
Following a pass from Franco DeRyck, Fedick put home a layup to extend the Bold lead to 18-14 with about four seconds left in the quarter. Nevertheless, it was clear whose impact on the game was largest—when the first quarter ended, Leveridge’s 10 points stood out clearly on the scoreboard.
Though the Lions opened the scoring in the second frame with a reverse layup from second-year guard Naimh Heath, the Bold mounted a sizable lead early in the quarter. Their largest lead of the game came at 28-18.
From there, Leveridge led the Lions to a miraculous run back to a tie game. Along with a couple of fade-away jumpers, she proved a powerhouse in forcing fouls, catching the Bold a step behind in attempting to take charges as she hit 10 foul shots in the first half. Clarke said the Bold tried to adjust by forcing Leveridge into tougher shots, without taking fouls.
“We just tried to get in better position, through a little bit more bodies, a little bit more discipline with it,” she said.
The Bold still finished the half on a high note, as a block by Franco DeRyck led to a quick turn up the court. At the end of a long possession, Hall sunk a layup high off the glass to give the Bold the lead back at 30-29.
Franco DeRyck finished the game with 18 rebounds—equaling a season-high she set against the Western Mustangs on Nov. 13, 2024—along with four steals and two blocks. Clarke described the Etobicoke, Ont. product as an “energy person” for the Bold.
“She’s just relentless in her pursuit,” she said. “She’s a competitor, she’s fearless, she’s not afraid to be physical and put herself in situations, and she just tracks the ball so well.”
Leveridge opened the scoring in the second half with yet another free throw, tying the game.
As for the Bold’s stars, one was undergoing a battle regardless of performance. Second-year guard Catrina Garvey hit a jump shot to give the Bold a 35-34 lead early in the quarter but those would be her last points—a nagging leg injury pulled her out of the game halfway through the third quarter.
Garvey played 18 minutes in the game, far below her average of 27.7 minutes per game this season. Third-year forward Jessica Keripe was tasked with stepping in her place, playing a season-high 27 minutes.
“We’ve had lots of different people step up,” said Clarke. “We’ve got a couple different people out of the lineup right now, which just has us play in some different combinations that we’re probably not as comfortable or as used to playing. And we’ll grow through that.”
Following Garvey’s bucket, York got reinforcements. After Okubasu hit the Lions’ first three-pointer of the game to take back the lead, she and Leveridge came off the floor for some rest. Fourth-year guard Tianna Bailey made a sharp shot from above the top of the arc, then when Franco DeRyck and Hall brought the Bold back to within a point, Grewal sank a jump shot plus the foul to give the Lions a 44-41 lead heading into the final frame.
Hall emphasized the difficulty of playing a stringent defensive team who generated a lot from second-chance points.
“Every team plays a different style. Brock plays different [from] York and different [from] McMaster. So it’s nice just to have a different test every night,” said Hall. “[You’ve] got to show up every night to be successful.”
The Bold seniors were the team’s best hope in the fourth quarter. Meek completed an and-one play to start things off and Hall continued crossing-up defenders as she provided all of the Bold’s offence over a four minute stretch. Nevertheless, Okubasu and second-year guard Gabby Di Pietro made sure the Lions remained in control with three three-pointers.
TMU made just three of 24 three-pointers they attempted in the game, well below their 28 per cent total for the season.
“We certainly didn’t knock them down today. [I’m] not sure all of our looks were great, but some of them were pretty good,” said Clarke. “Normally we’ll make some, but sometimes you’re cold and you gotta find another way.”
Wright was one Bold player who found another way. She hit two layups to get her squad within three points at 55-52, while also contributing on defence. She finished the game with seven defensive rebounds and two blocks.
After Okubasu added two free throws, Foreman hit a huge three-pointer, bringing the score to 57-55 with a minute and a half to go.
While an offensive foul against Grewal provided a key opportunity, the Bold couldn’t get the game back. Leveridge sunk a layup to make the game a two-possession game once again and with a pair of missed three-pointers from Fedick and Foreman, the clock ran out on the Bold on Senior Night.
Hall said while the team will likely “pick things apart” watching video of the game, the takeaways from all of the events of Senior Night was how far the team has come in her last year with the team.
“Maybe not tonight, but if you look at our year [as] a whole, I definitely would say just the growth as a team and one unit has really taken shape, which is so nice to see,” she said. “That comes with time, connection, just spending more time together.”
UP NEXT: The Bold hit the road to face the Lions again on Feb. 12. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Tait McKenzie Centre.
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