On Saturday, January 31st the Knights defeated Cambrian 67-48 in front of a large and boisterous crowd at the Welland campus athletic centre.
The Knights overcame perhaps their slowest start of the 2014-15 season, trailing 28-27 at halftime. The team found their scoring touch in the third quarter, outscoring the Saints 22-11 in the frame, and cruised to an eventual 19 point victory.
The Knights were paced rookie forward Courtney McPherson (Welland), who finished with 16 points on an impressive seven for 10 shooting. McPherson is a six-foot transfer from the University of Ottawa. She also grabbed a game high 17 rebounds, adding to her season totals that see her currently ranked second in the OCAA West in rebounds-per-game with 10.2.
Second year shooting guard Mary Ingribelli (St. Catharines) also finished with 16 points in the contest The police foundations student is currently averaging 10 points-per-game for the Knights.
The other half of the Knights' McPherson family connection, older sister Kaitlyn, also recorded a strong game for Niagara. The veteran forward finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and two blocks.
Sunday, February 1st saw much of the same from the two teams, as the Knights overcame another slow start eventually cruising to a 75-52 victory.
The Knights were anchored by second year point guard Alyssa McCabe who turned in her best game in a Niagara Knights uniform. McCabe finished with a dominant 18 points, eight assists, five rebounds, five blocks, and a steal. More impressively the Niagara Falls native shot 50% from the floor and played a team high 31 minutes.
"Alyssa gave us an absolutely outstanding performance on Sunday" said Niagara College women's basketball head coach Mike Beccaria. "She contributed in every facet of the game, and really served as a catalyst for us."
The wins move the Knights to 8-6 on the season and into fifth place in the highly competitive OCAA West Division. The team currently sits two points behind the Sheridan Bruins with one game in hand.
Beccaria continued "it was a great weekend for our team. Both victories were real workman like efforts and overall fine team wins."
The Knights have four games remaining in the OCAA regular season. Up next is a critical home court matchup versus the Redeemer Royals (3-11) on February 6th at the Welland Athletic Centre. Tip-off is set for 6:00pm and for those unable to attend, all Knights home games are live streamed at www.ocaatv.com.
