Toronto Varsity Blues 2010-11

Exhibition Games

                                       second year                                                  fourth year                                                                                    first year rookies

senior captains

  Redbird Classic at McGill (Oct 22-24)

 On Friday the Blues opened the tournament against Waterloo. After losing the opening tap the rest of the game was all Blues as the Warriors turned the ball over 46 times against the Varsity Blues pressure. Toronto had 82 shots compared to the 54 Waterloo attempts. By quarters the Toronto lead grew from 18-10 to 34-22 at the break, then on to 53-31 with a final of 76-41. The Blues used 12 players in another balanced attack that was led by All-Canadian Nicki Schutz who had 20 points and 9 boards in just 22 minutes of action. Erin McNeely had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals while Joanna Medri chipped in with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 5 steals while Sherri Pierce led the game with 7 assists. Rookie Jill Stratton had 3 assists and 5 steals while Amanda Lauzon had 7 points, 6 boards and 3 steals in just 10 minutes of work.

  On Saturday, Toronto took on the host McGill team. The Martlets were coming off three wins at the Waterloo tournament last weekend and a big win over PEI yesterday. In the first quarter the two teams each had 13 shots, 8 rebounds and 4 turn-overs and McGill had a 5-2 edge in free throws but with the Blues shooting 54% and McGill shooting just 15%, Toronto took a 17-9 lead after 10. The second quarter was similar as the Varsity Blues extended the lead to 36-15 in what appeared to be a runaway as McGill continued to shoot 15%. However the Martlets were not ready to give up and clawed back in the third with a 20-15 quarter that cut the lead to 16. McGill continued to force Blues turnovers, force missed shots and get to the foul line but their continued poor finish (26%) left them behind with a 64-52 final score for the Blues.

 Toronto was led again by Nicki Schutz with her best effort of the year with a 31 point, 18 rebound double-double as she just dominated the game. Joanna, Erin and Liane followed with 7 points while Joanna added another 4 steals. Both teams had the same 61 shots and the Blues had 1 more rebound and 3 more turn-overs but the difference was the Blues defence holding the Martlets to just 21% shooting for the game.

  On Sunday UPEI was the opponent and the Blues had their sights on a Championship. Toronto had a great start shooting 55% from the floor with 6 for 6 from the line and a 30-17 lead against a physical, tough Panthers squad. PEI slowed down the Blues in the second and got 1 point closer as Toronto held on to a 44-32 lead but after the break, the Blues jumped to another big quarter to extend the lead to 70-46. The Toronto rookies played most of the fourth quarter and closed out the Championship with a final 88-61 victory.

 The Blues forced 33 turnovers, had 79 shots and out-rebounded the Panthers 43-33. Sherri Pierce had a break-out game with 17 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Blues while Jill Stratton had 12 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. Erin McNeely had 10 points, 5 assists and 2 steals, Joanna Medri also had 10 points, with another 4 steals and Julie Longauer chipped in 9 points.

 Nicki Schutz was the Tournament MVP and Joanna Medri was an Allstar.

Darcel Wright Memorial Classic @ Ryerson

(Oct 15-17)

The Varsity Blues were matched up with the defending CIS Bronze medalist from Saskatchewan in their first round game Friday afternoon. The Huskies jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead hitting two threes while going 3 for 3 on their first 3 possesions. The Blues were forced into an early time-out with Saskatchewan taking a 12-3 lead after 5 minutes of play. Toronto settled down and during the 15 minutes from then till haftime, the Blues played even to remain 9 behind at 42-33. The third quarter was a struggle for both teams but the Huskies with a 14-7 quarter, extended their lead to 16 at 56-40 as the Blues went just 3 for 23 from the field. Toronto bounced back in the final frame forcing turnovers and drawing fouls to win the quarter but the Huskies had enough to hold on for a 69-57 win.

The Blues created 32 turnovers and had 22 more shots but 31% shooting compared to Saskatchewan's hot 50% cost any chance of pulling out a win.

The Blues were led by Erin McNeely with her 14 points, while Nicki Schutz led with 7 rebounds and Joanna Medri had 4 steals.

On Saturday the Blues bounced back with a much improved start and a quick 11-2 run against Guelph and carried a 25-15 into the first break. Guelph fought back in the second quarter by closing to 37-28 with 13 for 16 from the foul line. The second half was all Varsity Blues as Guelph went 2 for 13 in the third, then 1 for 20 in the fourth to fall further and further behind as Toronto continued to pressure on defense, run on offence and finish from the floor(44%) and at the foul line (75%, 11 for 11 in the fourth). The final score was 76-41 as the Blues depth wore down the Gryphons with 10 players playing more than 10 minutes and all of them contributing to the win.

Nicki Schutz led the Blues with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 3 steals while Erin McNeely had 11 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. Sherri Pierce had 9 points, 5 boards and 4 steals.

Three Toronto rookies made big contributions again as Liane Bailey had 9, Jill Stratton had 8 and Julie Longauer had 7 points in a balanced Blues attack.

  On Sunday the Blues put together their best effort of the young season as they took on McMaster. Toronto took an early lead, forcing 10 turn-overs, shooting 44%, getting to the foul line, out rebounding the Marauders and taking a 22-10 lead after 10 minutes. Mac responded with a strong second quarter and closed to 5 in the middle of the frame and the Blues hung on to a 38-32 lead at the half. Both teams shot poorly in the third (UofT, 25% and Mac, 21%) but Toronto extended the lead to 10 with a 51-41 score after 30 min. Toronto's depth and full court pressure paid off again in the final period as the Blues forced another 10 turn-overs and out-scored the Marauders 20-12 to earn a 71-53 win.

Nicki Schutz had another double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds to earn a tournament All-Star award. Sherri Pierce was the Player of the Game with 14 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. Joanna Medri led both squads with 6 steals while Alicia Van Kampen had a strong game with 8 boards.

Pre Season Games (Oct 1,3)

The Varsity Blues unveiled their new look for 2010-11, with seven new players, in a controlled scrimmage with the Waterloo Warriors Friday and followed up with a win over the Vanier College Cheetahs from Montreal on Sunday. The Blues were led in both games by All-Canadian Nicki Schutz, while Sherri Pierce had a strong game Friday and Erin McNeely bounced back with a big game Sunday - 10 points, 4 assists and 5 steals. Second year player Alicia Van Kampen had a strong effort Friday and the other sophmore Katelyn McConnell responded with a good 12 point-4 steal game on Sunday.

From the Rookie group, Jill Stratton played a lot of productive minutes at point guard with 10 points, 4 assists and 3 boards vs Vanier. Fellow freshman Julie Longauer had 9 points with 100% shooting to go with 2 steals in the Sunday victory while Liane Bailey started both games and showed the ability to score at this level.
The Blues shot well from the floor (52%), out-rebounded the Cheetahs 35-27, made 17 steals, got to the foul line 9 more times and moved the ball well to earn 16 assists but the Blues will have to improve on their 22 turnovers.