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The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball team defeated the York Lions 75-61 in front of a packed house on School Day Friday afternoon at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

With the win, the Blues improve to 3-4 and remain in third place, while the Lions drop to 2-6 and sit fourth in the OUA East division.

Third-year guard Rahshida Atkinson led all players with 17 points, five rebounds and two steals, while forward Emily Piccini notched 14 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Diedre Edwards added 13 points, five boards and a game-high six assists, while rookie guard Keyira Parkes recorded 10 points, four boards and four steals in the victory.

The Lions got out to an early 5-1 lead but the Blues quickly recovered and evened the score at 7-7 midway through the first quarter. Both teams traded points and were deadlocked at 13-13 after 10 minutes of action.

U of T went ahead with a dominant second quarter, outscoring the Lions 26-12. With Toronto leading 25-21, the squad extended the gap with two three-pointers from Parkes and Atkinson. The Blues were up 39-25 at halftime.

Toronto opened the second half on an 11-2 streak and outscored York 14-7 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Four Lions hit double digits, with Katrina Collins-Samuels and Taylor McAlpine recording a team-high 12 points in the loss.

The Varsity Blues return to action next Friday, January 15 as they host the Queen's Gaels at Goldring Centre. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

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