No.2 HAWKS TAKE PERFECT RECORD INTO CCAA NATIONALS
WINDSOR, ON: After arguably completing the most dominate season in program history, the no.2 Humber Hawks (18-0, 1st OCAA) will now have to prove themselves against the best teams in the country when they head to St. Clair College March 17-19 to compete in the national championships.
The three day tournament features eight of the best teams in the CCAA, where only a 3-0 record will win the national title. After completing only the second 21-0 season in program history, the Hawks will attempt to become the first OCAA women's program to win a national title. Since 1978, the OCAA has only won four CCAA medals while the last ten champions are programs from Quebec.
The Hawks were given the two seed in this tournament, their second highest spot in program history. In the quarter-finals, Humber will be tasked with playing the second team from the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC), the no.7 St. Mary's Lightning (20-4, 2nd ACAC).
The Lightning will be making their first appearance at the national dance after upsetting Lakeland College (22-2, 4th ACAC) in the semi-finals and finishing with a silver medal. St. Mary's lost to no.1 NAIT (20-4, 1st ACAC) 69-66 in the championship game.
The most intriguing matchup during this game may be between OCAA defensive player of the year Mary Asare (Scarborough) and the CCAA's second –highest scorer Montana Romeril of STMU, who finished the year with 598 total points. Asare is the catalyst for the best defensive team in Ontario and the Hawks held their opponents to a league best 48.4 points-per-game this season.
Romeril, a five-foot-five guard from Calgary, will find it difficult to produce at such a high clip against the five-foot-nine Asare and her lateral quickness. During the season, Romeril recorded a season-high 43 points, a remarkable three times, and can score from anywhere on the court.
The Lightning also features two of the taller forward duos in Alberta. Kassandra Harkema, a six-foot-four forward, averaged 6.4 rebounds per game this season, while her teammate Mary-Jean Ritchie averaged 11.1 rebounds-per-game.
|
BY THE NUMBERS |
|||||||||||
|
TEAM |
GP |
RECORD |
STREAK |
HOME |
AWAY |
PPG |
FG% |
3PT% |
FT% |
RPG |
APG |
|
ST. MARY'S |
24 |
20-4 |
Lost 1 |
10-1 |
10-3 |
78.3 |
39.5 |
30.7 |
75.5 |
42.1 |
21.1 |
|
HUMBER |
21 |
21-0 |
Won 21 |
9-0 |
12-0 |
80.6 |
41.0 |
27.0 |
66.0 |
53.5 |
21.5 |
|
TEAM LEADERS |
||||
|
HUMBER HAWKS |
ST. MARY'S THUNDER |
|||
|
14.3 |
PPG |
28.0 |
Montana Romeril |
|
|
Ceejay Nofuente |
8.7 |
RPG |
11.1 |
Mary-Jean Ritchie |
|
Ceejay Nofuente |
6.4 |
APG |
3.3 |
Montana Romeril |
|
Ceejay Nofuente |
4.5 |
SPG |
4.1 |
Montana Romeril |
|
Jill Semple |
1.2 |
BPG |
0.8 |
Kassandra Harkema |
The Hawks also bring a deeper bench into this tournament after having 12 players average at least ten minutes of action this season. Leading the is All-Rookie team point guard Felicia Velasquez (Brampton), who averaged six assists in three games during the conference tournament.
The quarter-final game between Humber and St. Mary's will be on Thursday, March 17th with tip-off at 3:00pm EST. Stay tuned to humberhawks.ca to find a live stream link for the game.
OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT WEBSITE:
http://www.ccaa.ca/national-championship-s15097
