WELLAND, ON: The Niagara Knights women's basketball team (2-7) fell to the Humber Hawks (7-2) at the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre in Welland on Friday night. The first game of the winter term saw the Knights fall 69-41 to the 2nd place team in the OCAA west division.
A sloppy start to the game from both teams saw a scoreless first minute and ten seconds before Niagara's Lyric Shallow opened the scoring with a layup. 5 more Knights baskets would follow in the next 3 minutes to put them up by 6 just over halfway through the 1st quarter. The Hawks were able to claw their way back, but not enough to take the lead away from the Knights in the 1st frame.
The rest of this game was a bit of a different story for the Knights. While they showed flashes of brilliance at time, their bench was just not deep enough to keep up with the strength and depth of the Hawks. The Knights were outscored 56-24 in the remaining 3 quarters to fall 69-41 to the Hawks.
The Knights were led by 5th year guard Aisja Strachan who tallied 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal while spending 34 minutes on the floor. 2nd year standout Lyric Shallow added 11 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in 35 minutes. 1st years Emma Vendittelli and Keira Teske combined for 12 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 steals while playing 40 and 34 minutes respectively.
When asked to reflect on this game, head coach Allie Columbus stated "coming back from the holiday break, we were met with a tough battle against Humber. Our first half performance was strong, but we struggled to maintain that standard to finish out the game". She added that "it is worth noting that our group showed impressive fight and perseverance to overcome some challenges in this matchup".
The Knights will have the week to rest and recover before they head to Windsor and Sarnia for their next two games. They will take on the St. Clair Saints on Friday, January 16th at 6pm and then head to Sarnia to play the Lambton Lions at 1pm on Saturday, January 17th. All OCAA basketball action can be watch live at ocaalive.com.
For more information on the Knights' teams, please visit us at www.goknights.ca
