November 22, 2019...WELLAND - The Niagara College women's basketball team captured their first win of the season last night at Redeemer College, 79-76. The win also marked head coach Chris Rao's first Ontario College Athletic Association (OCAA) win since taking the helm of the Knights bench in July.

The Knights were down by 14 at the half to the Royals and managed to overcome the 46-32 deficit to pull off the 79-76 win. 

The win wasn't without it's own dramatics. Redeemer, already with a shortened bench to start the game and an 0-6 record, ran into foul trouble in the fourth, allowing the Knights to have a man advantage after two Royal players fouled out. Them, with just over a minute remaining, a third Redeemer player fouled out, giving the Knights a two-man advantage for the remainder of the game. 

The Knights held on to thier lead, earning their first win of the 2019-2020 season. 

Kaisen MacKinnon (3rd year, Cole Harbour, NS)  netted 20 points, while Jessyka Maliksi (1st year, Mississauga) contributed 18. Mackenzie Schroeder (1st year, St. Catharines) grabbed nine rebounds and 13 points. 

The win comes as a huge lift to the struggling Knights women. With a team of mostly new faces, head coach Chris Rao has had his work cut out for him. Niagara had lost six straight since starting the season back on October 18, with yesterday's win allowing the Knights to head into Christmas break with a 1-6 record. 

"It's great to go into a tough environment at Redeemer and come out with a big win," said Rao. "We played a great third quarter with four players finishing in double digets. We will look to build on this momentum heading into our game against Fanshawe next week."

Next up for Rao and his squad will be their final game before the Christmas break, when they travel to Fanshawe (8-1) on November 29th for a 6PM tip-off