Story by the OCAA
WELLAND, Ont. - The top eight teams are set to compete for provincial glory at the 2023 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Women's Basketball Championship. The event is being hosted by Niagara College in Welland, Ont., from Friday through Sunday.
Along with the host Niagara Knights, the top seven teams in the West Division during the regular season have advanced to the championship. This includes the reigning OCAA gold medalist and West Division champion Humber Hawks, who enter the competition having lost just one game since the start of the OCAA season. That came against the Lambton Lions, who are also competing at the championship.
Other returning 2022 medalists include the three-time runner-up St. Clair Saints and bronze medalist Niagara. The Fanshawe Falcons, who won back-to-back OCAA championships in 2019 and 2020, are also competing.
Two teams in uncharted waters will make their debuts at the championship. The Conestoga Condors have advanced to the OCAA quarter-finals for the first time since re-entering the league in 2017. And the Redeemer Royals, following an 11-loss regular season, came up with the equivalent of a 15-over-2 upset at March Madness during the OCAA crossovers, upending a nationally-ranked Durham squad to advance to the round of eight.
Finally, the lone East Division team to advance to provincials shouldn't be overlooked. Afterall, the Algonquin Wolves are undefeated and have won 15 straight games.
A total of eight games will be played in a span of three days. The OCAA quarter-finals will take place on Friday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. Winning teams will advance to the OCAA semi-finals on Saturday, followed by the bronze and gold medal matches on Sunday.
The OCAA champion will join the host Mohawk Mountaineers at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women's Basketball National Championship, taking place later this month in Hamilton, Ont.
All games will be webcasted on OCAA Live. Here is a closer look at the match-ups.
| Conestoga Condors (8-8, 5th West) vs. Humber Hawks (15-1, 1st West) |
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| Friday, Mar. 3 - 1 p.m. | ||
| Conestoga |
Humber | |
| Won 3 | Streak | Won 3 |
| 6-4 | Last 10 | 9-1 |
| 67.3/game | Points For | 75.4/game |
| 66.6/game | Points Against | 57.3/game |
| Yasmeen Smith (22.3/game) | Points Leader | Kia Watt (14.6/game) |
| Yasmeen Smith (10.9/game) | Rebounds Leader | Marley Bonnick (7.3/game) |
| Taylor Doyle (3.2/game) | Assists Leader | Kia Watt (4.4/game) |
| Megan White (0.8/game) | Blocks Leader | Sarah Baptie (1.2/game) |
| Yasmeen Smith (2.4/game) | Steals Leader | Kia Watt (2.8/game) |
| Redeemer Royals (5-11, 7th West) vs. Fanshawe Falcons (10-6, 3rd West) |
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| Friday, Mar. 3 - 3 p.m. |
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| Redeemer | Fanshawe | |
| Won 1 | Streak | Won 1 |
| 4-6 | Last 10 | 6-4 |
| 63.1/game | Points For | 64.3/game |
| 74.1/game | Points Against | 59.5/game |
| Jessica Angelini (14.4/game) | Points Leader | Alison Cotton (13.9/game) |
| Julia Stayshyn (11.5/game) | Rebounds Leader | Alison Cotton (7.5/game) |
| Karyn TeBrake (3.4/game) | Assists Leader | Sydney Kendellen (3.6/game) |
| Julia Stayshyn (0.8/game) | Blocks Leader | Grace Shea (0.7/game) |
| Karyn TeBrake (2.0/game) | Steals Leader | Alison Cotton (2.4/game) |
| Niagara Knights (9-7, 4th West) vs. Algonquin Wolves (14-0, 1st East) |
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| Friday, Mar. 3 - 6 p.m. |
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| Niagara | Algonquin | |
| Won 2 | Streak | Won 15 |
| 6-4 | Last 10 | 10-0 |
| 63.6/game | Points For | 65.3/game |
| 54.9/game | Points Against | 46.4/game |
| Taryn Mitchell (13.9/game) | Points Leader | Dasia McDonald (15.4/game) |
| Molly Taylor (8.7/game) | Rebounds Leader | Libby Hirst (11.1/game) |
| Jamira Rousseau (4.0/game) | Assists Leader | Sydney Moore (4.3/game) |
| Jamira Rousseau (1.1/game) | Blocks Leader | Meaghan McNamara (0.7/game) |
| Taryn Mitchell (2.6/game) | Steals Leader | Dasia McDonald (5.3/game) |
| St. Clair Saints (7-9, 6th West) vs. Lambton Lions (13-3, 2nd West) |
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| Friday, Mar. 3 - 8 p.m. |
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| St. Clair | Lambton | |
| Won 1 | Streak | Won 1 |
| 4-6 | Last 10 | 8-2 |
| 61.8/game | Points For | 67.8/game |
| 63.9/game | Points Against | 53.7/game |
| Shae-lyn Murphy (15.2/game) | Points Leader | Breanna Pretty (14.1/game) |
| Lauren Overeem (8.3/game) | Rebounds Leader | Breanna Pretty (9.3/game) |
| Shae-lyn Murphy (3.7/game) | Assists Leader | Breanna Pretty (4.6/game) |
| Grace Smrke (1.1/game) | Blocks Leader | Gabi Whiteye (0.7/game) |
| Shae-lyn Murphy (2.4/game) | Steals Leader | Breanna Pretty (2.6/game) |
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/wbb
Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive
Friday, March 3
Quarter-Finals
Game #1: Conestoga vs. Humber - 1pm
Game #2: Redeemer vs. Fanshawe - 3pm
Game #3: Niagara vs. Algonquin - 6pm
Game #4: St. Clair vs. Lambton - 8pm
Saturday, March 4
Semi-Finals
Game #5: Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 - 3:30pm
Game #6: Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 6pm
Sunday, March 5
Bronze Medal Game
Loser Game #5 vs. Loser Game #6 - 1pm
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of game
Gold Medal Game
Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 3:30pm
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of game
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
For over 50 years, the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association has been a dedicated leader in amateur athletics through the provision of quality varsity and recreational athletic opportunities at the collegiate level.
For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com
