When you're a program on the rise like the Waterloo Warriors women's basketball team, you tend to collect a lot of milestones along the way.
Sometimes, it could be a statement win against the defending champs. Or maybe it's a career night from your budding superstar. It might even be an emotional victory for your program's leader against her former team.
For the Warriors, it was all three in one night.
Vanessa Hughes (Hamilton, ON/) poured in a career-high 28 points, and head coach Jessica Roque got her first victory against her former club, as the Warriors downed the defending national champion TMU Bold 68-65 on Friday evening in Toronto.
The win sends Waterloo to 2-0 on the young season, and gives Roque her first triumph against TMU after spending four years there as the lead assistant to head coach Carly Clarke.
On a night when defense was the story and clean looks were hard to come by, Hughes was the outlier – she scored 28 points on 10-16 shooting, including 4-8 from beyond the arc. Kaitlyn Overeem (Brantford, ON/) added 11 points, while Summer Pahl (Kitchener, ON/) contributed 5 points, 5 steals, and 4 boards.
Hailey Fedick and Kait Nichols led the way for the Bold, as each put up a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double. The loss dropped the defending OUA and USports champions to 0-3 on the year.
It was a stifling defensive effort for the Warriors right from tip-off, as they jumped out to a 21-13 lead after the first quarter. By the half, the Waterloo lead had swollen to 13 points, and the hosts headed into halftime searching for answers.
After briefly extending the lead to as many as 16 points, TMU chiseled away at the Waterloo advantage in the third quarter. The momentum carried into the fourth for the hosts, as they came all the way back to tie the game at 60-60 midway through the final quarter. But Hughes responded just seconds later with a dagger 3-pointer to end a 14-4 TMU run, and give the Warriors the lead for good.
The black and gold forced TMU into 31 turnovers on the night (including 15 Waterloo steals), while holding the Bold to 36.9% from the field. Meanwhile, on the offensive side, Waterloo's aggressive mindset led to a huge night from the free throw line, as the Warriors made 18 of 21 from the stripe.
The Warriors will now look to continue their hot start to the season when they host the Windsor Lancers for their home opener on Saturday, November 12. Tip-off at Carl Totzke court is scheduled for 6pm.
