The Niagara Knights women's basketball program finished their weekend series with a pair of road wins over the Lambton Lions (2-16, 10th OCAA West) and the St. Clair Saints (10-7, 5th OCAA West). The weekend victories put the Knights at 12-6 on the season, strengthening their grip on 4th place in the OCAA West Division standings.
In Saturday's (Feb 10th) matchup against Lambton the Knights started off slow surrendering 19 points, giving the Lions a 1 point lead heading into the second. The Knights would find their offensive rhythm in the second quater, outscoring the hometown Lions 26-4 for a 44-23 lead to end the half.
The programs would battle in the third scoring twelve a piece to head into the final quarter at 56-35. Niagara's lead would prove to be too much for the Lions to come back from as the Knights would take Saturday's affair 76-49.
Pacing the Knights offensively was 4th year guard Mary Ingribelli (St. Catharines, Ont.) who led her program with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds. Another notable Knights' performance came from 1st year guard/forward Brooke Cesar (Brantford, Ont.) who contributed 7 of her 11 total points in the fourth quarter.
After defeating Lambton, The Knights travelled to Windsor Sunday, February 11th to face off against the St. Clair Saints. This was a must-win for both programs battling for positioning in the OCAA West Division standings. A Saints' win would move the Windsor program closer to surpassing Niagara in the standings, while a Knights' win would strengthen their grip on fourth spot in the OCAA west division.
The Knights would open Sunday's affair strong, outscoring the Saints 20-16 in the first quarter. The Knights' defense would struggle in the second, surrendering 31 points to close out the half down by 9 (47-38).
Niagara would regain their composure in the 3rd, closing the gap to 7 points going heading into final quarter. The Knights were in desperate need of a strong finish and that is what they got. The Knights had a stellar fourth quarter outscoring their opponent 23-9. Mary Ingribelli's 13 4th quarter points helped solidify the Knights' 80-73 victory. The Governor Simcoe Standout paced the Knights once again with 33 points and 10 rebounds.
Other notable Knights performances came from 1st year Brooke Cesar and 5th year Courtney Kilyk (Fonthill, Ont.), who finished with 18 points and 11 points respectively.
The Knights are back in action next weekend when they host the Sault Cougars (0-18, 11th OCAA West) in back-to-back home games to close out the 2017-18 regular season.