The Niagara College women's basketball program improved to 11-6 this weekend after sweeping the Cambrian Golden Shield in a pair of matches in Sudbury. Saturday night saw the team cruise to a 60-39 victory, before earning a hard fought 50-46 victory on Sunday.
The weekend games saw the return of the Knights top-two offensive threats in fifth year guard Tara Giallonardo and fourth-year forward Shelby Johnston. The two veterans have been out of the lineup for much of the second half of the 2013-14 season.
A trio of local veteran forwards led the way during Friday night's contest. Third year players Miranda Ross (St. Catharines), and Kaitlyn McPherson (Welland) finished with a game high 14 points, while Shleby Johnston (Welland) finished with 10. McPherson turned in a particularly strong contest for the Knights as she also gave the team a game high 15 rebounds.
After the game Knights head coach Mike Becarria commented "Kaitlyn had a great double-double tonight and has really played well, and has shown veteran leadership while her teammates were recovering from their injuries."
The second game was played less than 24 hours later, and both teams showed signs of fatigue throughout the contest. Coach Becarria felt "Cambrian played well, and used a zone defense to take away the scoring chances of Miranda and Kaitlyn."
Becarria continued "today wasn't our best day on the court, it was somewhat of a struggle, but we came away with two points."
Leading the way offensively for the Knights was Johnston. The team captain shot an impressive six of 14 from the field and finished with a team high 13 points.
Also turning in strong performances for the Knights were first-year guard Alyssa McCabe (Niagara Falls), and Mary Ingribelli (St. Catharines) who finished with 10 points each. McCabe added to her OCAA West division leading assist totals, finishing with a game high five assists. Ingribelli hit two critical three-point shots late in the game that helped seal the victory for the Knights while also contributing eight rebounds.
The Knights will wrap up the 2013-14 regular season on Friday, February 14th when the team hosts the first-place Humber Hawks at 6:00pm at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre. Serving as extra motivation in the contest is that the game will also serve as Knights Grad Night.
Prior to opening tip-off, 11 graduating members of Niagara College's winter intercollegiate sport programs will be recognized for their strong performance in the classroom. Women's Basketball program members Tara Giallonardo, Miranda Ross, and Katie Beaucock will be among those recognized.
