As the clock wound down in Saturday's season opener for the Brock Badgers women's basketball team, the crowd could sense something special was about to happen.
 
As the baskets went in, the volume up, and by the time the final buzzer sounded with the Badgers on top of the Ryerson Rams 68-58, the crowd and the team celebrated like it was a playoff win. In fact, it was the first time the Brock women had beaten the Rams since the 2013 season opener — 2,185 days ago.
 
"It feels so sweet. That's the best way to put it," said Brock's Melissa Tatti, who led all scorers with 15 points. "To start a season off like this is incredible."
 
It was clear during the game that the Badgers are a much different team than they were even one year ago – when they last lost to Ryerson by 26 points in a high-profile game at the Meridian Centre.
 
Ryerson led 19-18 after the first quarter and 33-32 at the half, but the Badgers took over the lead on a Jessica Morris jumper in the third quarter and led 50-48 heading into the final frame.  From there, Brock never relinquished the lead, gapping Ryerson by 15 points in the final two minutes before the Rams narrowed the final margin of victory to 10 points.
 
Tatti called it the biggest win of her time at Brock, but said the Badgers can't get overconfident.
 
"We have to humble ourselves," she said. "We have to stay calm, cool and collected. It's a big win, but it's nothing compared to what we can do this season."
 
For head coach Mike Rao, a win in the first game of the season reaffirms that the off-season recruiting and training were on the mark.
 
"It just tells us that if we stay on this line, we can just keep working and some good results will happen," he said. "These girls gave us a lot of effort tonight. They didn't stop working."
 
Behind Tatti's 15 points, Morris and Eden Ferraro had 12 each while Kristen Gallant had 11 and Samantha Keltos had 10.
 
The 1-0 Badgers will face an even bigger test when they host the defending national champion McMaster Marauders on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. From there it's a road game at Toronto Friday, Nov. 2 then back-to-back home games on Nov. 8 and 9 against Guelph and Algoma, respectively.