Wednesday, January 31st saw the Niagara Knights women's basketball program improve to 10-5 with a thrilling 83-80 overtime victory over the visiting Sheridan Bruins (8-7). The win moves OCAA No. 6 ranked Knights into sole possession of fourth place in the ultra competitive OCAA West Division.
"Sheridan is a good team" said Knights head coach Mike Beccaria. "They've played all the top teams in single digit games, so tonight was no surprise at all. Make no mistake, this was a timely win and very important regarding positioning for the playoffs."
The engine that drove the Knights all evening was veteran fifth year point guard Courtney Kilyk (Fonthill). The former St. Fx standout finished with 12 points while also adding 17 rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
The Knights led for the majority of the contest, stretching their lead to as many as 12 in the second half. The team was sparked by the red hot shooting of fourth year wing Mary Ingribelli. The St. Catharines native finished with 21 points in the contest, but rang up 19 in the second half.
The Knights appeared head to the victory in the dying seconds, but a sensational steal by the Bruins allow the Sheridan side to draw even as time expired. The two teams headed to a five minute overtime period locked at 73. The Bruins jumped out to an 80-78 lead with just over a minute remaining, but the Knights rode a 5-0 finish to secure the win.
Six-foot- forward Tianna Stys (St. Catharines) turned in a career best 17 points on an efficient 7 of 11 shooting to help bolster the Knights attack. Guard Hope Brown also turned in a strong performance finishing with 12 points four rebounds, and four assists.
The 10-5 Knights will face a short turned around as the team will travel to Humber on Saturday to face the top-ranked Hawks at 6:00pm.