Nov. 25 Niagara College Report
The second-place Niagara College Knights women’s basketball team pushed its Ontario Colleges Athletic Association regular season record to 6-1 with an impressive pair of road victories last weekend.
“Our team showed great resilience, grit and depth this weekend. Lambton and St. Clair are two very well-coached and talented teams. Proud of the group,” Niagara head coach Kimbal Mackenzie said.
Niagara opened the weekend with a 66-46 victory over the Lambton Lions led by player of the game Janee Harrison with 21 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block in 27 minutes.
“This weekend, we really came together as a team and played our game. Going on the road and playing two back-to-back good basketball teams is not easy. In both games, we got an early lead and were able to stay ahead throughout,” Harrison said. “There were times when Lambton and St. Clair went on runs but we stayed positive and kept pushing the pace and setting the tone. We played unselfish basketball and it showed. Looking at the stats, you can see we had points coming from everyone. We all feel really good about the weekend and are ready for our next game on Wednesday.”
Also contributing to the win versus Lambton were: Destiny Paquin with 11 points, six rebounds, an assist and a steal in 22 minutes; and, Jamira Rousseau with nine points, four steals, three assists, two blocks and a rebound in 22 minutes.
Rousseau was named Niagara’s player of the game in a 47-39 victory over St. Clair.
“This weekend, our team played at the highest level I have ever seen. The ball movement, the extra passes, the sharing of the ball and our defence was next level. Every single person contributed to both wins on and off the court,” Rousseau said. “We played together as a team and had each other’s back. This weekend proved to us and the league the potential and the skill we have and we are so excited to keep showing everyone who we are.”
Top Niagara performers versus St. Clair were: Lexxus Bell with six points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists in 23 minutes; Griffin Lack-Shane with seven points, two rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes; and, Isabelle Sinclair with six points, three rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes.
Rousseau was also named Niagara College’s Female Athlete of the Week.
“Jamira’s leadership skills were on full display over the weekend as she combined for 18 points, seven assists, six steals, six rebounds, four steals and three blocks,” a college press release said.
Niagara is at Redeemer Wednesday before hosting the Fanshawe Falcons Saturday at 1 p.m.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara’s men’s basketball team fell to 2-6 in OCAA play following road losses to Lambton (61-57) and St. Clair (102-70).
“We have to be better as a team: our discipline, our effort and our will to win. We have to be better offensively, shooting the ball and limiting team’s second chance points/ opportunities. The best part is we know what needs fixing and we are in control of it,” Niagara head coach Lequan Hylton said. “We need to close out the semester strong and build some momentum heading into the second half of the season. Happy that our young team is experiencing some adversity early in the season. It’s helping us build character and resilience.”
Topping the stat sheet for Niagara against Lambton were: Khayden Stewart with 17 points, five assists, four steals, two rebounds and a block in 35 minutes; Skylar Samuel with 16 points, seven rebounds, one assist, a steal and a block in 30 minutes; and, Bach Yiech with nine points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes.
Leading thee way against Lambton were: Isiah Panom with 18 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 28 minutes; Samuel with 13 points, two rebounds and two steals in 28 minutes; and, Raheem Dennis with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal and one block in 27 minutes.
Niagara is at Redeemer Wednesday before hosting the Fanshawe Falcons Saturday at 3 p.m.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The fourth-place Knights women’s volleyball team (6-4) had a .500 week in OCAA action losing 3-1 (20-25, 16-25, 25-20 and 16-25) to the Cambrian Golden Shield and defeating the Boreal Vipers 3-0 (25-11, 25-17 and 25-11).
“Hats off to Cambrian who played a really complete and tough game. They got a lot of block touches and digs, really extending rallies and making it difficult to put away a ball. A lot of bounces and plays that normally go our way just didn’t in that game. We have to look at the whole game and know it may simply have been an outlier of a game and turn to the next game,” Niagara head coach Steve Stone said.
The game versus Boreal was a complete game for the Niagara women.
“All the girls executed and were under control the whole time. Nice to see them come out and bounce back in this one,” he said.
Playing well for Niagara against Cambrian were: Natalie Little with 11 points on six kills, 11 digs, four blocks, an assist and one service ace; Laryssa Schipper with 11 points on three kills and eight blocks; and, Abbey Gooder with 10 points on five kills, seven digs, four blocks, three assists and a service ace.
Performing well versus Boreal were: Charlize Trudell with 12 points on six kills with six service aces and two digs; Tess Kelly with 11 points on 11 kills with six digs and an assist; and, Tia Kelly with 23 assists, five digs, one service ace and a point.
The Knights are at the Fanshawe Falcons Wednesday.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Niagara’s fourth-place men’s volleyball squad (6-4) also split its game last week, losing 3-1 (25-14, 18-25, 15-25 and 20-25) to the Cambrian Golden Shield and sweeping the Boreal Vipers (25-13, 25-10 and 25-18).
“Not really sure what happened. The boys came out and executed flawlessly in the first set. It seemed Cambrian then woke up and we weren’t ready for that response after the first set. We never really could get our footing back and find another level,” Stone said. “Against Boreal, it was nice to see contributions evenly throughout the boys on this one. They came ready to play and kept it simple and consistent. Big shout to Britton Burrows who came in and ran a very efficient offence and served tough.”
Topping the stat sheet versus Cambrian were: Mitch Churipuy with 13 points on 12 kills with eight digs, two assists and one service ace; Wizdom Smith with 11 points on nine kills with three digs, two blocks and an assist; and, Matthew Takacs with nine points on eight kills with three digs and one block.
Leading the way versus Boreal were: Burrows with nine assists, a service ace and one point; Leiland Parenteau with 21 assists, two digs and two points on two kills; Takacs with 10 points on 10 kills with one dig; and, Jack Drummond with seven points on five kills with three digs, two service aces and an assist.
Burrows was named Niagara College’s Male Athlete of the Week.
“Britton made his Knights’ debut against the Boreal Vipers, coming into the match and running an efficient offence,” a college press release said.
The Knights are at the Fanshawe Falcons Wednesday.
