PERFECTION ACHIEVED! 2018 CCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
SACKVILLE, NB – Top-ranked Humber stands alone. Another flawless season by the dominating Hawks.
Humber won its second national championship Saturday night, capping another perfect season by beating No. 2 Dawson, 68-61. No other OCAA women's league sport has ever captured a national title. Humber now owns two in three years under head coach Ajay Sharma.
Peerless again. Perfect again.
Seniors Aleena Domingo and Ceejay Nofuente paced the way for Humber, finishing with 22 and 21 points, respectively.
"I'm probably one of the luckiest people in the coaching profession because I get to coach players like Ceejay [Nofuente] and Aleena [Domingo]," Coach Sharma said. "They are special players ... program changers."
Miea Campbell-Johnson opened the scoring for Humber, but Dawson used a 9-2 run at the end of the first to take the lead. The Blues continued to be trouble on the glass for Humber in the second frame, using their size to finish the half plus-15 in rebounds. After 20 minutes, Dawson led 36-35.
Domingo came out after the break to score six straight points for Humber and combined with Nofuente to score 17 of Humber's 19 points in the third quarter.
With a six-point lead, Nofuente stole a pass with 7:10 remaining in the game, converting an easy layup to ice the game.
Nofuente and her fellow seniors Aleena Domingo and Stephanie Antwi posed on the ladder after cutting down the net for the final time. Mission accomplished.
"It wasn't a sense of relief, it was a sense of success. This is exactly what we wanted." Nofuente said. "Going into each title run we were confident and that's what we were tonight, confident."
The Hawks (26-0) have been nearly unbeatable since Nofuente arrived. They are 100-3 with her in the lineup, including 89-0 against OCAA competition. Nofuente earned the most valuable player of the tournament for the second time.
As Ajay Sharma finished cutting down the net he summarized the program in three simple words.
"We're the best."
