HAWKS ADVANCE TO CCAA BRONZE MEDAL FINAL
EDMONTON, Alb. – The No. 1 Humber Hawks are heading to the CCAA bronze medal final Saturday night after defeating No. 2 Nomades de Montmorency 77-64.
Two teams that were expected to be playing for the national championship met Saturday morning in the CCAA bronze semi-final game at the NAIT Gymnasium. Ceejay Nofuente finished with a game-high 17 points and now the Hawks have the chance to become the first OCAA program to win consecutive CCAA medals.
Immediately after tip-off, both teams played fast and hard, exchanging baskets for the first five minutes of the quarter. After a Nofuente three gave Humber its first lead, 11-8, the Hawks continued to pressure the Nomades. At the end of the first quarter, the Hawks led 24-19.
The Nomades, the top-ranked program in Quebec, began to chip away at Humber's lead, trimming its deficit to three points. After a well-timed Coach Sharma timeout, the Hawks went on a 15-7 run to end the quarter and went into half up 14. Beryl Mefful scored five points off the bench for Humber in the frame. Jill Semple and Aleena Domingo were major forces for Humber in the first half and did not allow a single offensive rebound to the taller Montmorency team.
Humber's top ranked defence once again stood tall in the second half and limited the Nomades to 15 per cent shooting from the floor (3 of 20) in the third, all but securing its spot in the bronze final game.
Amber Bechard, Humber's top defender, was tasked with All-Canadian Mael Gilles. Severely undersized, Bechard rose to the occasion, limiting Gilles to eight points while forcing five turnovers before the All-Canadian fouled out of the game.
Miea Campbell-Johnson finished with 10 points and four rebounds for Humber in nine minutes of action. Felicia Velasquez was named player of the game after finishing with six points, six assists, and six rebounds.
The Hawks will now compete in the CCAA bronze medal game later today against the winner of the NAIT/Douglas game. Tip-off for the bronze medal game is schedule for 6 p.m. MT/8 p.m. ET.
