TORONTO, Ont. – It may not have been the final result that the Guelph Gryphons women's basketball were hoping to leave Toronto with on Halloween night. But the Gryphs nevertheless proved that they have what it takes to go toe to toe with some of the best programs in Canadian university women's basketball. Wednesday night at Ryerson's Coca Cola Court, the Gryphons built up a 10-point lead early in the 3rd quarter against the No. 2 nationally-ranked Rams. Ryerson, however, would respond in a big way, outscoring Guelph 22-9 in that 3rd quarter to ultimately run away with a 15-point victory, 74-59. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 2-1 on the season while Ryerson improves to 2-0.
 
The Gryphons certainly gave the No. 2-ranked Rams a scare, after Guelph outscored the hosts 22-8 in the 2nd quarter. Sarah Holmes scored 11 of her team-high 17 points in that opening half, which saw the Gryphons take a seven-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Gryphons' fourth-year forward Ivana Vujadinovic also impressed, pouring in 16 points on the night and going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. The Gryphons unfortunately had no answer for a physical Ryerson team, which made a whopping 43 trips to the free throw line (29-43) compared to just 15 trips to the charity stripe for the Gryphons (11-15). Guelph was also out-rebounded on the night 55-32.
 
"We put them on the line too often and you can't win doing that," said Gryphons head coach Mark Walton. "You've got to play the game the way the refs are calling it at times and we weren't able to do that. We will chalk this up to another learning opportunity in our process. It was unfortunate that it had to come against the No. 2-ranked team in the country, but we feel like we proved we can play at that level now."
 
The Gryphons will be back in action Saturday night (Nov. 3) at the University of Toronto with a 6pm tip versus the Varsity Blues.