HAWKS CEEJAY NOFUENTE DROPS CAREER HIGH 40 POINTS IN WIN
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Clair | 20 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 63 |
|
Humber | 12 | 23 | 32 | 24 | 91 |
ETOBICOKE, ON: The Humber Hawks women's basketball team (7-0, 1st place), led by Ceejay Nofuente's career high 40 points, continued on the path to an undefeated season with their 91-63 home win over the St. Clair Saints (7-2, 2nd place) on Sunday afternoon at the Humber Athletic Centre.
In what started as a game that seemed to be in question early, with the visiting Saints running out to a 20-12 first quarter lead, the match turned into the Ceejay Nofuente (Toronto) show. The Hawks were actually down by as many as 12 before they could regroup and turn the game around. From that point on, it was all Hawks as they outscored the St. Clair squad by 36 points the rest of the way.
Before we get to the game story, it is important to talk about the story of the game. Reigning OCAA & CCAA Player of the Year, Ceejay Nofuente was simply outstanding. Her 40 points came via 10 two point buckets, 11 free throws made and 3 three point field goals. The last of her 3-pointers took her from 37 points to the magical 40 point plateau. With her 10 rebounds, she once again recorded double-double.
Now, to the rest of the story.
Humber came back from that first quarter deficit by outscoring the Saints by 10 in the second, and led heading to the locker room at half by a score of 35-33. As mentioned above, Nofuente was the number one star, but it was the offensive emergence of veteran guard Amber Bechard (Tecumseh) that helped guide the Hawks in that quarter and then in the third as well.
Humber, after receiving direction from head coach Ajay Sharma, came out with a ferocious defensive game plan in the third. This alteration made a huge difference as the Hawks held the St. Clair team to just 13 points, while scoring 32.
The fourth and final quarter saw Humber move into a 30 plus lead, before settling on the 28 point victory.
"We played to our strengths in the second half", said Hawks head coach Ajay Sharma. "And that was not reflected in our play in the opening quarter."
As mentioned above, Bechard had her best day as a Hawk, burying 18 points, including a 3 for 5 effort from behind the arc. Aleena Domingo (Toronto) and Leticia Lopez (Toronto) chipped in with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Saints superstar Shannon Kennedy was the only St. Clair player in double digits, with 21 points.
The Hawks have two games remaining on the Fall portion of their season schedule, with the first a roadie on December 3 at Redeemer before closing at home with a battle against the Mohawk Mountaineers on December 7. These two teams have competed for the OCAA title in the last two OCAA championship games.
