The Niagara College women's basketball program was eliminated from the OCAA playoffs on Saturday, February 22nd when the team was defeated by the St. Lawrence Vikings by a score of 73-63. The win sees the Vikings advance to the OCAA Championship tournament being hosted by Mohawk College.
The Knights entered the game without the team's top scorer Tara Giallonardo who was out of the lineup with a knee injury. The team struggled to open the game allowing the Vikings to start the contest with a 12-1 run.
The Vikings eventually carried a 43-27 lead into halftime. A second half charge by the Knights saw the team rally to within 6 points in the closing minutes of the third quarter before running out of steam and suffering the 10-point loss.
After the game Niagara College women's basketball head coach Mike Becarria commented "I have to give credit to St. Lawrence. They played well and made some key shots to get the victory today."
The Knights seemed unable to defend the hot hand of Vikings forward Nicolle Gaudet. Gaudet shot 73% from the field, including a perfect five of five from three-point range, and finished with a game high 28 points.
Coach Becarria continued "we started really slowly today. Even though we played really hard in the second half, we just couldn't overcome the deficit."
The Knights were led offensively by veteran forwards Miranda Ross (St. Catharines) and Kaitlyn McPherson (Welland). Ross finished with a team high 15 points, while McPherson added 14 points and a game high eight rebounds. Mcpherson was named Niagara College female athlete of the week for her performance.
Although the Knights were unable to qualify for the OCAA Championship, the 2013-14 season saw the team finish with an 11-7 regular season record. The winning record marks a dramatic improvement over the 2012-13 campaign that saw the team finish 8-10.
