The Windsor Lancers dropped their first game of the season Friday night with a 69-52 loss against the No. 5 Ryerson Rams in Toronto.
 
The Lancers' offense was thrown off track with some great interior defense by the Rams, who held the Lancers to just 29 per cent shooting. Windsor was also playing without head coach Chantal Vallee on the bench, as she was sidelined with minor injuries sustained in a car accident earlier in the week. Though the Lancers fall to 4-1 they remain atop the OUA west division.
 
GAME STATS
Windsor's Olivia Osamusali led the game in rebounds with 12 boards on the night. Ryerson was led by Browyn Williams who brought in six.
 
Eve Uwayesu was Windsor's leading scorer with 18 points, while Naymouch Teny had 12.
 
The blue and gold had the better outside offense on the night, shooting 29.2 per cent from behind the line to Ryerson's 25 per cent.
 
GAME FLOW
The Lancers got out to a hot start early, nailing three of four from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, the hot start wasn't mirrored on defense, with the Rams ahead 12-9 at the 6:00 mark in the first quarter. The Lancers' cooled off late and trailed after the first 17-12, making just one field goal in the back half of the quarter.
 
The Lancers issues persisted into the second quarter, struggling to get a presence in the paint. Some timely outside shooting and solid defense kept the Lancers within striking distance but Windsor went into the half trailing 37-27.
 
The Rams defense kept the intensity up to start the second half, frustrating the blue and gold offensively, as the hosts extended their lead and forcing the Lancers into a timeout early in the third quarter, trailing 46-29. Despite the timeout the Lancers couldn't find any rhythm on offense as they were forced to rely exterior shots, eventually falling 69-52.
 
UP NEXT
The Lancers will be back in action tomorrow night as they take on the Varsity Blues in Toronto. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm on www.OUA.tv.