USports Highlight Games: Ryerson Rams vs UPEI Panthers, 3/5/20
The USports Yearbook is an on-going series looking back at some of the best basketball games played by Canadian college teams in the 2019-20. This edition casts a light on the standout game from the Championship tournament, held at TD Place in Ottawa.
The first round of the 2020 USports title bracket saw the UPEI Panthers go in as the underdogs against the third seed Ryerson Rams, both vying for a place in the semi-finals. UPEI had lost just three games so far in the season and boasted the USports player of the year, Jenna Mae Ellsworth.
Ryerson, though, had earned that number three spot, having lost just five games in the season and coming into this one winners of seven of their last eight fixtures. Already this made for a lot of anticipation around this game, which transformed into a highly unpredictable and electrifying encounter in the capital.
Reese Baxendale opened the scoring with a three-point shot for UPEI and after Ryerson followed with six unanswered points, Karla Yepez hit another three to tie the scores. Bronwyn Williams and Marin Scotten then put the Rams up by four, but quickly lost the lead for the first time of the game after an and-one layup from Jenna Mae Ellsworth.
Scotten had seven points in a row to take Ryerson from down three to up four but UPEI were quick to fight back. First scoring six in a row and following that up with a 5-0 streak, they led the Rams by six midway through the second quarter.
Following on from a layup from Williams, Emma Fraser had four in a row to tie the scores and a free-throw from Scotten put them back in front. Drawing a foul from Hayley Robertson, Ellsworth hit both throws from the line to put UPEI back in front 29-28, which would be the half-time score.
When play resumed Lauren Rainford worked hard on the Panthers' defence to hold off Ryerson, who kept themselves within two of their opponents. After four-and-a-half minutes Scotten gave the lead back to the Rams and a battle between her, Rainford and Ellsworth ensued as they jostled to take the lead.
Successive threes from Scotten and Fraser saw Ryerson surge six points in front, and Scotten was not done yet, scoring five points in a row to end the third quarter, where the Rams had a seemingly comfortable ten-point advantage.
Ellsworth and Baxendale between them cut the Panthers' deficit down to one point in the fourth. Carolina Del Santo put them back in front with UPEI domintaing possession while Ryerson's attempts kept falling short. Not every shot went in for UPEI, but Baxendale, Ellsworth and Rainford continued to prove dependable for them in the fourth.
Hayley Robertson attempts to start a comeback for Ryerson late in the game, she and Tatie Cleland getting them to within four of the Panthers, but fouling proved to be the wrong tactic for them. Baxendale and Ellsworth built on UPEI's lead from the line and at the final buzzer they had defied expectations and completed the biggest shock of the USports postseason.
Marin Scotten had some consolation in Ryerson's loss, she finished as the game's top scorer with 31 points as well as grabbing 10 total rebounds. The star duo for UPEI, Jenna Mae Ellsworth and Reese Baxendale, finished with 22 and 19 points respectively, with Ellsworth also leading in rebounds with 13 total in the Panthers' 75-70 first round win.
From here they advanced to face the Brock Badgers in the semi-finals, where their championship run came to an end having lost 69-55. A further seven-point win against Laval secured them the 2020 bronze medal. Though UPEI did not head back east with the trophy, they definitely left their mark on the year's USports tournament.
