Dec. 2 Niagara College Report
The Niagara College Knights women’s basketball play moved in a first-place tie in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association West Division last week with a pair of victories.
Niagara (8-1) defeated Redeemer 78-34 and Fanshawe 64-55.
Powering Niagara to the win over Redeemer were: Janee Harrison with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 27 minutes; Jamira Rousseau with 15 points, a rebound, two assists and a steal in 17 minutes; and, Megan Louws with 13 points, two rebounds, an assist and three steals in 17 minutes.
“The game wasn’t going exactly how we wanted it to at the very beginning. Shots weren’t dropping and bad fouls were called. However, instead of getting frustrated with each other and giving up we stayed positive and began to come together more as a team,” Louws said. “After the first quarter, there was no going back and we continued to excel by pushing the score and playing lock down defence. We all hustled and worked together as a team throughout the game. We couldn’t have won this game without everyone’s contributions and I am so proud of us.”
Head coach Kimbal Mackenzie liked what he saw.
“Our depth was on full display in a convincing team win. We continue to trust the day-to-day process of getting better.”
Against Fanshawe, leading the way for Niagara were: Harrison with 26 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals in 34 minutes; Lexxus Bell with eight points, four rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes; and, Destiny Paquin with six points, seven rebounds, an assist and three blocks in 22 minutes.
“Fanshawe is a good team. They play their entire bench and that’s hard to scout. We knew going into the game that we had to play lockdown defence on everyone for every possession. Winning the rebound battle and shutting down Anderson was the best way we knew we would win,” Harrison said. “We had some players injured who make a big impact so we knew we had to play our best to make up for that. We stuck together as a team and stayed positive when Fanshawe closed the lead back to a tie game and that’s what made us come out on top.”
Mackenzie is proud of his team for its continued attention to details and commitment to the process of getting better.
“The break has come at a good time for us to get healthy and regroup for second semester,” he said.
Harrison was named Niagara College’s Female Athlete of the Week.
“Janee led the team to victory against Redeemer on Wednesday evening. She then turned around and had an even better game against Fanshawe three days later. Her stat line was 26 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Twelve of those points came in the fourth quarter alone helping to fire up the bench and give her team the motivation it needed to hang on for the win,” a college press release said.
Niagara opens the second half of the season Jan. 11 at Mohawk.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara’s men’s basketball team (4-6) was also unbeaten last week knocking off Redeemer 80-72 and Fanshawe 96-75.
Top performers versus Redeemer were: Skylar Samuel with 21 points in 33 minutes; Raheem Dennis with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes; and, Isiah Panom with 13 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes.
Leading the way versus Fanshawe were: Kadin Moore with 20 points in 33 minutes; Samuel with 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block in 29 minutes; and, Adrian Pajor with 13 points, a rebound, three assists and three steals in 24 minutes.
“This was a great team win for us to close out the first half of the season. Everyone was able to get in the game and contribute something to impact winning,” Niagara head coach Lequan Hylton said. “We shot the ball with confidence and we stuck to the game plan of forcing turnovers and converting them to points. Time to get healthy and develop. We look forward to the rest of the season.”
Samuel was named Niagara College’s Male Athlete of the Week.
“Skylar had a combined 39 points in two games this week and helped lead his team to two victories. He also added a combined nine rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block to the board. Skylar has been a great addition to the team this year taking advantage of scoring opportunities and driving to the rim whenever the defence allows,” a college press release said.
Niagara opens the second half of the season Jan. 11 at Mohawk.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The fourth-place Niagara College’s women’s volleyball team finished the first half of the season with a 7-4 record following a 3-1 victory (25-17, 23-25, 25-23 and 25-22) over Fanshawe.
Top performers for the Knights in the victory were: Kyleigh Baxter with 14 points on 11 kills, three service aces, two digs and an assist; Montanna Taylor with 12 points on six kills, 36 assists, six service aces and 13 digs; and, Tess Kelly with 13 points on 10 kills, seven digs, two service aces and a block.
Niagara’s next match will be against the visiting Mohawk Mountaineers Saturday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The fifth-place Niagara men’s volleyball team (6-5) concluded the first half of the season with a 3-1 loss (12-25, 25-23, 11-25 and 21-25) to Fanshawe.
Leading the way for the Knights were: Ashton Nieuwets with 11 points on nine kills, six digs and two service aces; Liam Marchetti with 9 points on six kills, two service aces, one dig and a block; and, Rowan Redekop with seven points on two kills, five blocks and two digs.
Niagara’s next match will be against the visiting Mohawk Mountaineers Saturday, Jan. 11 at 3 p.m.
