Oct. 22 Niagara College report
Women’s soccer player, Kaitlyn Mix, is co-winner of this week’s Niagara College Female Athlete of the Week award. Photo by RYAN MCCULLOUGH.
Welland native Bridget Atkinson’s explosive debut with the Niagara College’s women’s basketball team earned her a share of the college’s female athlete of the week award.
The former junior national team member had 17 rebounds and 30 points, including 24 in the second half, to lead the Knights to a come-from-behind 83-79 overtime victory over the Reedemer Royals. The Centennial grad netted the game-tying bucket with just six seconds remaining in regulation time.
Other major contributors for Niagara were: Holy Cross grad Tia Stys, 23 points and 14 rebounds; and, Thorold Secondary School product Hannah Baker, 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Last season, Niagara finished with a school record 14-6 mark and lost to the Mohawk Mountaineers in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association bronze-medal game.
Joining Stys and Baker as key returning players are forwards Steenika Gilbert, Samantha Baptie and Kim Shephard, and guard Rysa Delmundo from Niagara Falls.
Atkinson is the biggest addition to the roster. The former Guelph Gryphon and Brock Badger is a former USports Rookie of the Year, Ontario University Athletics second team all-star and Team Ontario selection.
Other notable additions are: former Welland Centennial guard Kirstyn Atkins; and, former St. Francis point guard Sophia Al-Kayed, who will join the basketball team once the women’s soccer season is over.
Head coach Mike Beccaria (56-37) is in his sixth season with Niagara, which went 2-3 in the preseason.
“We had an interesting pre-season,” Beccaria said. “We’ve been trying to adapt an identity as a team and it’s taking some time.”
FEMALE CO-WINNER
Women’s soccer player Kaitlyn Mix was co-winner of the female athlete of the week honours.
The first-year pre-health sciences student scored a pair of goals, extending her goal streak to four consecutive games in the process, to power the Knights to a 3-0 victory over the George Brown Huskies. Madison Harley notched her first career OCAA goal in the victory and Alexis Hebert made six saves to record the shutout.
The win gave Niagara’s women their first-ever berth in the OCAA championship. Niagara will play Durham Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. in the quarter-finals.
“I was proud of how our team stayed calm despite being outchanced by George Brown initially,” Niagara head coach Rob Lalama said. “We weathered the storm, and Kaitlyn’s goal in the 30th minute sent us on our way.”
NIAGARA MEN’S BASKETBALL
The Niagara men’s basketball team opened its season with a 108-93 victory over Fanshawe.
Leading the way for Niagara were: Ridley College grad Livingston Bromwell, 21 points and 14 rebounds; Van Hutchinson Jr., 19 points and 15 boards; and, Kevin Cooper, Alex Elliott and Dave Morrison, 12 points each.
Governor Simcoe grad Rahim Bardi had eight points and four rebounds in his OCAA regular-season debut.
“We took advantage of our depth and athleticism and made a positive step in the right direction very early in the season,” Niagara head coach Phil Mosley said.
Niagara had an exhibition record of 5-3 this fall under new coach Mosley. The Knights have a 36-18 record over the past three seasons, including earning a playoff spot with a 13-7 mark in 2017-18.
Key returnees are: Van Hutchinson Jr., who averaged 16 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.8 assists per game over his first two seasons; Morrison and Alex Elliott (Welland Centennial), back with the team after one-year absences; Johnnie Richardson from Niagara Falls; Danny Lokole from Welland; and, Tahir Mirza, Kevin Cooper and Jordon McDonald, who averaged 13.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last season.
Notable newcomers include Bromwell, Welland Notre Dame grad Braiden Moore, Bardi, Jon Ravn , Keveshan Padachey, Jose Ramos , Tyreke Walters and Stephone Augustine.
“We hope to build on past successes and remain in the hunt for a provincial title this year as we compete in a tough OCAA West Division,” Mosley said. “This year’s team has a nice blend of experience and youth which will allow us to continue to build.”
Niagara is looking for its first OCAA medal since the 2008-09 campaign.
“It is our goal to bring a level of competitiveness and hard work which will allow us to compete,” Mosley said. “Ultimately, we will be playing our best basketball by the end of the season as we prepare for playoffs and reaching our ultimate goal.”
MEN’S SOCCER
Niagara College’s men’s soccer team advanced to the OCAA championships for the fourth straight year, thanks to a 2-1 victory over Seneca.
Governor Simcoe grad Oti Frigole and Welland native Alex Latham scored for Niagara with Welland native Jake Therrien adding an assist.
Niagara plays the Humber Hawks Thursday at 9 a.m. in the quarter-finals.
VOLLEYBALL
Niagara’s men’s volleyball team opened its season with a 3-0 loss to defending OCAA champion Fanshawe.
Niagara showed flashes of great offensive play, but couldn’t find consistent points when they were needed. Jaydon Milne led Niagara offensively with 10 points, including eight kills and two service aces.
Niagara’s women opened their season with a 3-1 loss to Fanshawe. Leading the way for Niagara were: Jordan Koslowski, 10 points, including seven kills and a pair of service aces; and, St. Catharines native Montanna Taylor, 16 assists in her first-ever collegiate match.
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