Friday, February 20th saw the Niagara College women's basketball program play host to the Sheridan Bruins, with fifth place in the OCAA West Division on the line. Riding a red hot fourth quarter, the Knights earned a crucial 60-50 home court victory.
The win sees the Knights finish in fifth place in the OCAA West with a record of 11-7. The team will now travel to Belleville to face the Loyalist Lancers in an OCAA playoff cross over game. While the Bruins finish in sixth and will face the unenviable task of travelling to either Ottawa or Kingston for a tough playoff game against the powerhouse Algonquin Thunder or St. Lawrence Vikings.
"Tonight was a big win for our program" said Niagara College women's basketball head Mike Beccaria. "We started really slowly. It probably was a case of being nervous, but we really played well in the second half."
The Knights trailed by six at halftime, and would have been behind heading in to the fourth quarter. Point guard Anna Jaworowicz hit a buzzer beating three pointer, however to tie the game at 37 heading into the final frame.
The Bruins opened the fourth quarter red hot, and opened up an eight point 48-41 lead with just over five minutes to play. The Knights however found there outside shooting game in the closing minutes, and went on a 19-2 run to close things out.
"We outscored Sheridan 23-13 in the fourth quarter, hit our shots when we needed to, and now we finish the regular season with 11 wins" added Beccaria.
Second-year point guard Alyssa McCabe was the catalyst for the Knights' offense all night. The Niagara Falls native finished with 16 points, including 15 in the second half, seven rebounds, and six assists."
Rookie forward Courtney McPherson (Welland) recorded her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and a game high 12 rebounds. The graduate of École secondaire Confédération has enjoyed an outstanding first-season of postsecondary play, averaging 13 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
Team captain Miranda Ross (St. Catharines) continued her strong late-season play. Ross added four more to her OCAA leading Block totals, while also contributing eight points, eight rebounds, and two steals. While rookie forward Sydney Phillips (St. Catharines) turned in her best game in a Knights uniform, finishing with nine points, two assists, two rebounds, and a steal in an efficient 21 minutes of playing time.
The game also served as the second annual Niagara College bwomen's basketball grad night. Mary Ingribelli (Police Foundations), Anna Jaworowicz (Sport Management), and Alyssa McCabe (Educational Assistant – Special needs Support) were all presented with framed and personalized photographs in honour of their pending graduation in April.
The win will now see the Knights travel to Belleville for an OCAA playoff crossover game against the Loyalist Lancers (8-8) on Saturday, February 28th. The winner will advance OCAA Championship being hosted by Centennial College. Tip-off for Saturday's game against the Lancers is set for 2:00pm.
