No. 1 HAWKS SET TO FACE NAIT IN CCAA OPENING ROUND
| Game Info | Hawks vs. NAIT Ooks |
| Date | Thursday, March 16 |
| Time | 6 p.m. MT / 8 p.m. ET |
| Venue | NAIT Gymnasium |
| Stream | WATCH LIVE |
THE STORYLINE
The No. 1 Humber (21-0) women's basketball team is making its third consecutive national tournament appearance and ninth in program history. The Hawks enter the CCAA tournament as the defending champions and will open with a quarter-final matchup against the host team, No. 8 NAIT Ooks (25-2).
After rolling through its regular season with a 23-1 record, the Ooks lost its quarter-final matchup to unranked Medicine Hat College (11-10), 71-53. Despite the first round upset, NAIT receives an automatic spot as the host team.
LAST TIME OUT vs NAIT
For the second straight season, these two programs will meet in the CCAA tournament. Last year, Humber came away with a 78-58 win in the semi-finals, booking the programs first-ever trip to the national title game. The Ooks went on to claim the CCAA bronze medal, the first in program history.
Despite trailing after the first quarter, the Hawks came away with the win after shooting an incredible 56.3 per cent (18 of 32) from the floor in the second half. Ceejay Nofuente finished with 15 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, while teammate Jill Semple was named player of the game after finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Chauncey McClenan paced the way for NAIT in the loss, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
SCOUTING NAIT
- The Ooks return six players from last season's semi-final matchup; including three starters.
- NAIT is led by two first team all-conference players' Torey Hill and Sydney Hurlburt.
- Hill, a six-foot-three forward, finished the season averaging 11.6 (1st) rebounds and 15.1 (7th) points per game on 54.3 per cent shooting.
- NAIT led the ACAC with 160 three-pointers made, shot at a 30.7 per cent clip (160 of 522).
- As a team, the Ooks finished third in the conference in scoring, averaging 73.1 points per game.
STREAKING
- The Hawks have won an OCAA record 45 consecutive CCAA regular and postseason games.
- Humber has also won 58 consecutive OCAA regular and postseason games, the second longest streak in conference history. The Algonquin Thunder won 67 consecutive OCAA games from November 5, 2011 until January 15, 2015.
TRENDING
- Humber returns six players from last season's semi-final game with NAIT; including two starters.
- The Hawks became the first program to score 1,500 points in OCAA history.
- Humber outscored its opponents by an average of 34.2 ppg, best in the OCAA.
- The Hawks led the conference with 136 three-pointers made, shooting 31 per cent (136 of 439).
RECORD SETTING
- All-Canadian Ceejay Nofuente set new league records for steals (101) and assists (124).
- Nofuente also became Humber's single-season scoring champion (394) and all-time leading scorer (905) this season.
- Chioma Oriuwa ends her career as Humber's all-time leading rebounder with 521.
- Aleena Domingo tied her career-high with 240 points and sits second all-time on Humber's career scoring list (806).
ALL-ONTARIO
- At the annual athletics banquet, Ceejay Nofuente became the first Humber Hawk to win consecutive OCAA Player of the Year Awards.
- Head coach Ajay Sharma was named West Division Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.
- Aleena Domingo was named a second team all-star for the fourth time in her prestigious career.
3-PEAT
- Humber won its third consecutive provincial title after defeating the Mohawk Mountaineers 76-40 on March 4 at Seneca College.
#OCAAWBB | Three straight pic.twitter.com/SchiRSIfrx
TOURNAMENT HONOURS
- Ceejay Nofuente was named the 2017 OCAA Championship MVP, becoming the first Humber Hawk to win the award in consecutive seasons.
- Aleena Domingo, who scored 34 points in the tournament, was named a championship all-star for the second time in her career.
- Amber Bechard, the best defender on the best defensive program, was named a championship all-star for the first time in her career.
POLL POSITION
After winning the first national championship in OCAA history, the Hawks have been the top-ranked program in the country all season long.
ON THE SIDELINES
Head coach Ajay Sharma now has 113 wins at the helm of the women's basketball program and remains 18 wins behind Denise Perrier for most all-time.
LIVESTREAM
The entire CCAA national championship will be live streamed courtesy of NAIT athletics and can be found here.
