HAWKS BATTLE HARD BUT FALL IN NATIONAL SEMI-FINAL
Humber has to set their sights on national bronze after a disappointing 50-38 loss to the Montmorency Nomades.
The Hawks lit the spark with a three pointer plus a foul by shooting guard Natalie Hagopian, and that was all either team put on the board for the next few minutes. Forward Llyandra Kerr posted up for the second basket of the game and guard Ceejay Nofuente held the Nomades with authoritative defence to cause a Montmorency turnover. With five and a half minutes left the Hawks had kept the Nomades off the board until the 2:45 mark and ended the frame with a 10-2 lead while drawing eight Montmorency turnovers.
The Nomades scored the first four points but forward Mary Asare kept Montmorency at bay with a midrange jumper that made it a 12-6 Humber lead. But that was the lone Humber basket by the halfway mark forcing Head Coach Ajay Sharma to call a timeout. Forward Atissa Cronk responded with a cutting layup for a pair but still couldn't get the team in a rhythm. The Nomades had gone on a 10-4 run and crept up to a 14-12 deficit with under three minutes left in the half. Montmorency fulfilled the comeback and a 17-15 lead into the half over the flat Hawks.
Montmorency played with a new found control in the third quarter, extending their lead to 19-15. Forward Aleena Domingo woke the defence up with a clutch steal in the paint and fed the ball to Asare who drew a foul on her way to the basket. Both free throws were missed and the Nomades left the Hawks in the dust 23-15, until Nofuente broke the ice with a long two before a Humber timeout. The most exciting part of the game was crammed in the final two minutes of the frame. Again Cronk came out of the timeout with a strong post-up followed by four points from Domingo to creep back to a 28-24 deficit. Hagopian made her way to the basket for two points and the Hawks were back in the game and only trailed 28-26 after a low scoring three quarters.
Momentum finally went Humber's way and the Hawks took their first lead of the half with a three pointer by Hagopian for a 29-28 ball game. The lead was short lived since the Hawks couldn't match Montmorency's high intensity rebounding. After an offensive lull centre Ruth Holland stepped up and assisted Nofuente with a long three pointer for a 36-32 game. Down the stretch the Hawks couldn't pull ahead but yo-yoed from being down by as much as 10 to as little as four points. It was close but no cigar as the Nomades didn't let up and eventually punched their ticket to the finals with a 50-38 victory over the Hawks.
Humber could play two games tomorrow for their fight for the bronze medal. First thing's first they have to take on Quest University Kermodes at 10 a.m. PST, live streamhttp://sportscanada.tv/ccaa/index.php/basketball/2015wbb/179
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