Zain Rashid | Staff Writer
Featured Image: The women get their first win of the season, while the men end a losing streak dating back to last season to pick up first season wins. | Courtesy of YorkU Lions
The Lions men’s and women’s basketball teams played on the road against the Windsor Lancers on Friday, and the Western Mustangs on Saturday, picking up their first wins of the season.
The women’s game against the Lancers started with two successful free throw attempts from York’s Lauren Golding. The Lions were trailing 19-10 in the last few minutes of the first, but a late, 11-1 run allowed them to capture the lead before the end of the quarter.
The Lancers, however, slowly gained control of the rest of the game, outscoring the Lions in the remaining quarters and finishing the game with a 97-76 victory.
The men’s game against the Lancers, on the other hand, ended a losing streak dating back to last season, as they won 76-73.
The Lions outscored their opponents in the first three quarters: 18-17, 14-13, and 22-16 respectively, to build a healthy lead going into the final frame.
The Lancers then put up an incredible performance in the last quarter, and at one point were leading 66-64. The Lions, however, managed to halt their comeback in the last minute, as Chevon Brown scored four free throws to seal the Lions’ first victory of 2018.
The Lions women picked up their first win of the season on Saturday, beating the Western Mustangs 77-42 in front of their home crowd.
The game saw the Lions build a lead in the first three quarters, outscoring the Mustangs 12-7, 14-11, and 15-11.
Then, the Lions went on a scoring blitz in the last quarter, registering 36 points, and outscoring the Mustangs by 23, to finish the game in style.
The men’s team was unable to build on their success from the previous game, as they lost 78-61.
The Lions started off slowly in the first quarter as they only managed to score six points, all courtesy of Brown, while the ‘Stangs poured in 25. The second quarter saw further dominance from Western as they outscored the Lions 17-12, to take a 42-18 lead into the break.
The Lions came roaring back in the third, as they tried to cut into the Western lead. They scored 30 points while holding the Mustangs to 19. M.J. Forbes and Prince Kamunga lead the charge for the Lions, narrowing the Mustangs’ lead to 13 going into the fourth.
It was, however, too little too late for York, as the Mustangs outscored the Lions by four points in the fourth, en route to the 78-61 victory.
Both teams will be back in action this weekend when they’ll be hosting Algoma and Guelph on Friday and Saturday. Tip of is 6 p.m. for the women and 8 p.m. for the men.
