The York University Lions women’s basketball team won its first game of 2020 in thrilling fashion, picking up a 66-63 upset victory over the No. 8 nationally ranked Brock University Badgers on Wednesday night (Jan. 8) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The game started off electric with a huge turnout. Both teams were neck and neck in the first. Lauren Golding broke the tie to help the Lions gain the lead. The pressure didn’t stop there as the Lions forced numerous turnovers. With the help of Megan MacLeod, the Lions continued to edge away with the lead. More details on the York Lions website.
On Saturday, Golding’s career night led the Lions to a big 91-84 overtime victory over the defending Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and U SPORTS champion McMaster University Marauders. Golding shined throughout the game as she finished with a career high of 35 points and 17 rebounds to help the Lions take their second win of 2020.
The third quarter proved to be the turnaround for the Lions, where they added 31 points to the scoreboard, which helped them get marginally close to the Marauders for the first time in game. More details.
Men’s basketball Lions open 2020 with thrilling win over visiting Badgers
The York University Lions men’s basketball team got back into the win column with a 79-77 win over the Brock University Badgers at the Tait McKenzie Centre to tip off the new year.
In the first quarter, the Badgers gained an early 3-0 lead but the Lions picked up the pace and came out loud to dominate over the Badgers. Three-pointers from Prince Kamunga and Alex Thielen helped solidify the Lions’ lead and kept the momentum going to close the first quarter with a whopping 22-14 advantage thanks to a buzzer-beater from DeAndrae Pierre. More details.
Three days later, the Lions nearly upset the No. 7 McMaster University Marauders, ultimately falling by a single point, 83-82, on home court. The first quarter was off to a fast start with the Lions leading the charge. Kamunga and Joshua Kagande had fantastic steals ending with the Lions leading 14-10. More details.
No. 9 women’s hockey Lions fall to No. 2 Blues in battle for first place
The No. 9 nationally ranked York University Lions women’s hockey team battled the No. 4 University of Toronto Varsity Blues for first place in the OUA standings on Saturday afternoon and came away with a tight 2-0 defeat.
Offence was hard to come by for both teams as they played strong defensive games and got solid play from their goaltenders.
With one minute left on the clock in the first period, Mathilde De Serres opened the scoring to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage. That would be all the offence until the dying seconds of the game, when Natasha Athanasakos scored into an empty net to secure the victory. More details.
Women’s volleyball Lions come up just short in five-set loss to Warriors
The York University Lions women’s volleyball team came up just short in a five-set loss to the University of Waterloo Warriors at the Tait McKenzie Centre in their first OUA game of 2020.
The Lions nearly came all the way back from a two-set deficit but could not close it out, falling 15-11 in the fifth set to fall to 5-5 on the year. The Warriors improved to 5-4 with the win. More details.
The Lions returned to the court the following day to face the University of Guelph Gryphons and had their match play out in similar fashion. The Gryphons took the first two sets against the Lions, who trailed behind 25-16 in the first and 25-18 in the second set.
It took the Lions the third set to help them get on the board. A block by Wesley-Ann Bailey and Kayla Clennon provided the Lions with their first point of the set. This was followed by two more blocks by Bailey to give the Lions a 3-0 lead. More details.
Men’s hockey Lions drop both decisions to Thunderwolves in weekend doubleheader
The Lakehead University Thunderwolves defeated the York University Lions men’s hockey team by a score of 5-2 in the first game of their weekend doubleheader at Canlan Ice Sports.
The Thunderwolves built a 3-0 lead early in the second period and never looked back. The score remained that way until five minutes into the third period, when Nik Coric found the back of the net to cut the deficit to 3-1. More details.
One night later the two teams were back on the ice again and the Thunderwolves pulled out a tight 3-2 victory.
In the second period of the game, during a power play, the Thunderwolves put themselves on the scoreboard at 9:34 of the period and took a temporary 1-0 lead to the Lions.
York answered the visiting team just a minute later as Morgan Messenger found the back of Lakehead’s net with assists from Scott Feser and Xavier Pouliot. More details.
Men’s volleyball Lions drop 3-1 decision to Warriors
The York University Lions men’s volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to the University of Waterloo Warriors to open the new year at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions got 2020 off to a great start as they took an early lead over the Warriors. Toronto native Grant Lynch scored a strong kill for the Lions. The Lions continued to lead the Warriors by nearly doubling their score and by the end of the set were up 25-19 to take a 1-0 lead. More details.
The following day, the Lions were back on court against the University of Guelph Gryphons and were defeated in straight sets. The first set saw the teams past the 25-point mark. The two remained close throughout most of the set, with the Gryphons only ever getting five points ahead of the Lions. Towards the end of the set, the Lions began to make their move on the Gryphons and they tied the visiting team 19-19, then they tied again 21-21, at the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th points. The Gryphons were able to ultimately take the set 28-26, bringing the match to 1-0. More details.
Track and field Lions leave Windsor with six medals after Can Am Classic success
The York University Lions track and field team came away from the annual Can Am Classic with six medals after a successful weekend of competition in Windsor, Ont.
Leading the way was thrower Holly Taylor, who finished atop the podium in the shot put with a personal best distance of 13.56m, finishing just ahead of the silver medallist. Taylor also competed in the weight throw, an event she was undefeated in prior to the weekend, and finished in fifth place with a throw of 14.97m. More details.
Rodgers and Agard win medals at Brock Invitational
York University Lions wrestlers Brea Rodgers and Bailey Agard finished on the podium at the Brock Invitational meet in St. Catharines, Ont., on Saturday.
Rodgers, in her first season of competition with the Lions, won the silver medal in the 59kg weight class. Her only loss of the day came to Hannah Taylor, a multi-medallist at past OUA and U SPORTS championships.
Agard, meanwhile, won the bronze medal in the 51kg division. Wrestling against Emily Duchesne from the Algoma Thunderbirds in her final match, she won a narrow 5-2 decision to put herself on the podium. More details.