DOMINGO, HAGOPIAN LEAD WAY FOR HAWKS IN 68-47 WIN OVER NIAGARA
With five straight wins and an opportunity to take sole possession of first place in the OCAA's Western Division, the Women's Basketball Team played host to the Niagara Knights on Thursday night.
In what would become a recurring theme in the opening quarter, Humber's first six points were scored in the paint. Courtney Boyes easy two off the pick and roll opened the scoring, followed by Aleena Domingo finishing consecutive lay-ins. The Knights would fight back down low, with leading scorer Courtney McPherson getting two offensive boards that resulted in a pair of fouls on putback attempts. Up one, Humber's Natalie Hagopian hit a corner three that seemed to swing the momentum. A nice find gave Domingo her third easy basket of the quarter, and Hagopian's second triple of the first ten extended the lead to nine. Point Guard Ceejay Nofuente and Melissa Szilagyi pressured the Knights backcourt into a trio of turnovers, two of which were convered to buckets, and after one Humber held an 18-8 advantage. Niagara had shot just 12.5% from the field.
Domingo picked up where she left off in the second, with a pretty spin move resulting in her fourth basket of the half. Ruth Holland continued Humber's strong play on the defensive end with a stolen entry pass, and on Niagara's next possession Nofuente pressured the Knights into their fifth turnover of the game, finishing at the other end. Six minutes into the second, the visitors had yet to score and the Hawks lead had ballooned to nineteen points. Nofuente showed off her vision with a cross court pass to Hagopian for the easy two, and another triple came a minute later. At the buzzer, Humber held a convincing 37-14 lead.
The third quarter saw more of the same from the Hawks, as the blue and gold wouldn't to take their foot off the gas. Mary Asare and Ruth Holland each scored a pair of baskets off nice moves, and a no look pass from Nofuente, who was dishing all night, to Holland resulted in another two down low. A triple for Amber Bechard came as the quarter was coming to a close, and the score read 55-27 through three.
The fourth was opened with a sweet off the bounce two from Melissa Szilagyi, and the ball was humming for Humber offensively. Niagara was simply unable to get anywhere near the basket, forced to continue to hoist unsuccessful three's. Beautiful ball movement led to several open looks that Humber was unable to connect on, but the offense was undoubtedly running smoothly. Ruth Holland continued her strong performance with a nice move down low for two, and a pretty offensive rebound and finish from Sasha Bertusa wrapped up forty minutes of domination. At the final buzzer, the Hawks had improved to 10-1 with the 68-47 victory.
Next up for the Hawks is a road doubleheader next weekend against Sault.
Final Stat Sheet - Women's Basketball Stat Sheet
For full season standings, schedules stats and more please visit http://ocaa.com/sports/wbkb/2014-15/standings-include.
