This weekend saw the Niagara College women's basketball program travel to south western Ontario for a pair of crucial late season matchups. Saturday, February 14th saw the Knights defeat the Lambton Lions 73-69, before falling to the St. Clair Stains on Sunday, February 15th by a final score of 66-54.
The 1-1- road trip sees the Knights move to 10-7 on the season and into a tie for fifth place in the OCAA West Division.
Against the Lions the Knights were paced by veteran forward Kaitlyn McPherson. The five-foot-eleven native of Welland finished with team highs in both points with 17 and rebounds with seven. McPherson is in her fourth year with the women's basketball program and is currently enrolled in the Niagara College early childhood education program.
Niagara College women's basketball head coach Mike Beccaria called the victory over Lambton a "big win for the program" and was quick to point out that all five Knights starters contributed on the score sheet, with each finishing in double digit point totals.
Alyssa McCabe (Niagara Falls) finished with 14, while St. Catharines natives Mary Ingribelli and Miranda Ross recorded 13. Rounding out the Knights' top five scorers was rookie forward Courtney McPherson (Welland) who notched 11.
The Knights faced a short turnaround, returning to action in Windsor against the St. Clair Saints. Playing on just 12 hours rest, the Knights seemed to run out of gas in the late stages of Sunday's matchup.
The Knights led 45-40 heading into the fourth quarter, but a combination of too many turnovers by Niagara, and the red-hot outside shooting by St. Clair proved to be the difference in the contest. The Knights were outscored 26-9 in the final frame.
"They played very well down the stretch, executed well, and hit all their shots" said Coach Beccaria. "We also turned the ball over way too much, and were outrebounded for the first-time in a very long time."
Courtney McPherson led the Knights with 13 points, while McCabe and Kaitlyn McPherson finished with 12 points each.
The 1-1 road trip moves the Knights to 10-7 on the season and into a tie for fifth place in the OCAA West Division with the Sheridan Bruins. The Knights will host the Bruins for their regular season finale on Friday, February 20th at 6:00pm at the Welland campus athletic centre.
Admission to all Niagara College home games is free for current Niagara College students and those under the age of 18. For those unable to be in attendance, all Niagara College home games are live streamed at www.ocaatv.com.
