Eight straight wins for for No. 11 Women's Basketball

By: William Shoukri
Humber Athletics Communications

ETOBICOKE - No. 11 Humber women's basketball (8-1, 2^nd West) won their eighth straight game 84-64 against Lambton College (5-4, 5^th West). Kia Watt led the way with 24 points and eight rebounds, enough to get player of the game. Sarah Baptie also had a solid game, scoring seven of her 14 points in the fourth quarter. 

Game Recap

It was a quick start for Humber. With both teams on the tail end of a back-to-back, the Hawks looked to take advantage of a tired Lambton squad and got off to a blazing start, scoring nine in the first minute and a half, forcing Lambton to call an aggressively early timeout. 

After their aggressive start, the Hawks faltered in the back end of the quarter. A couple of tough buckets swung the momentum in Lambton's favour, and the Lions got within a possession quickly. 

Lambton is a big, physical team that was using this to Humber's disadvantage. Throughout the first quarter, the Hawks were unable to unlock the passing lanes that are the key to their game, having trouble getting points in the paint and failing to get clean shots off. 

Luckily, Humber was still solid defensively, creating turnovers and giving Lambton its fair share of trouble along the arc. Humber had a three-point advantage at the end of the quarter, leading 21-18. 

The game opened up offensively in the second, with both teams trading baskets consistently for the first five minutes. It seemed neither team was able to create a defensive stop until Humber cashed in back-to-back buckets, taking a five-point lead midway through the quarter. 

It was sloppy play from Lambton and solid positioning from Humber that was the difference maker in this one. At halftime, Humber had ten steals compared to Lambtons two and had scored more than a quarter of its points off turnovers. 

After a back-and-forth quarter that saw Humber increase their lead marginally, the Hawks would go into halftime leading 43-25, ending the quarter with a 7-2 run. 

Back from the break, Lambton started taking charge. The Lion's came out fast and caught Humber sleeping, putting up a 12-4 run before Humber would adjust. 

Marley Bonnick and Carina Wynter-Josephs brought the energy back for Humber midway through the quarter. Bonnick would cash a contested three (her third of the afternoon), and then Wynter-Josephs laced a mean and-one layup through three defenders, bringing the bench to its feet. 

Humber would finish the quarter with a bang. After two dramatic defensive stops, Kia Watt would hit an off-balance, buzzer-beating three-pointer, giving Humber their first double-digit lead of the quarter, sending Humber into the fourth leading 63-51. 

Humber did what it had to do in the fourth. The Hawks played a solid, shutdown quarter punctuated by a few clutch buckets that demoralized Lambton. The first came from another and-one layup from Carina Wynter-Josephs. 

It was dominance for the remainder of the game from Humber, outscoring Lambton 21-13 in the fourth. 

The Hawks would go on to win 84-64, showing offensive dominance in the face of adversity.   

Humber Highlights

• Humber's eight-game winning streak is the largest in the OCAA.
• The Hawks have the second-best points margin in the OCAA, scoring on average seven more points than their opponents.
• Humber has averaged more than 75 points over its last four games, while the best team in the OCCA only averages 72. 

What's Next?

No. 11 Humber will take a month off before resuming their season on the road in a rematch against Lambton on January 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM.